Stoinis lets it rip as Australia crush Pakistan for T20 series whitewash

Australia’s Marcus Stoinis hits five sixes in unbeaten 61 against Pakistan (William WEST)

Marcus Stoinis slammed five huge sixes in an unbeaten 61 as Australia crushed Pakistan by seven wickets in Hobart on Monday to secure a 3-0 whitewash in the T20 series.

Chasing a paltry 118, the hosts hit the target in the 12th over to give Pakistan a reality check after the visitors won the previous ODI series 2-1.

Stoinis was unstoppable once he got going, also hitting five fours in his 27-ball masterclass.

“It’s really good to get another win and go 3-0 up,” Australian skipper Josh Inglis said.

“When he’s going like that, it’s really hard to stop,” he added of Stoinis. “One of those six was probably the biggest one I saw.”

The match at Bellerive Oval was a dead rubber after Australia won a rain-soaked match in Brisbane by 29 runs and then in Sydney by 13 runs.

After electing to bat, Pakistan raced to 62-1 before collapsing to 117 in the 19th over with Babar Azam leading the way with 41 and Aaron Hardie taking 3-21.

Jake Fraser-McGurk started the chase with consecutive boundaries from Shaheen Shah Afridi before the speedster dismissed Matt Short for two, caught at mid-off by Irfan Khan.

Fraser-McGurk (18) followed, undone by the pace of Jahandad Khan in another miss from the 22-year-old.

But Inglis kept the scoreboard going alongside Stoinis, who went on a rampage in the ninth over, punishing Haris Rauf for 20, including a huge six that landed on the roof of the stadium.

Their 55-run partnership ended when Inglis brought Abbas Afridi back to Rauf on 27, which brought Tim David to the field.

He was a spectator of Stoinis, who brought up his fifth T20 half-century with another giant six before taking them home.

“There are a lot of positives, the way some players have batted and bowled, these youngsters will do well,” said Salman Agha, Pakistan’s skipper for the night with Mohammad Rizwan rested.

“It’s a big achievement for us to win a one-day series here after 22 years. We could have done better in the T20 series but we will come back stronger.”

Sahibzada Farhan opened Pakistan’s batting with Azam in the absence of Rizwan.

But on a cold evening he lasted just seven balls before edging past a short one from Spencer Johnson – fresh from five wickets in Sydney – to Xavier Bartlett.

Azam produced a series of elegant shots as he and Haseebullah Khan made a quickfire 44 for the second wicket.

But Kahn was no match for Adam Zampa’s spin, collecting an outside advantage on 24 against Short.

Pakistan’s woes increased with Usman Khan (3) caught in the ropes after hitting Hardie and Agha trapped by the same bowler for one.

This left them reeling on 72-4 at the halfway mark and when Zampa bowled Azam and Khan (10) was needlessly run out, they were in deep trouble.

Shaheen Shah Afridi blasted the only six innings, but did not last as the tails were cleared.

mp/tym

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