Australian white-ball captain Aaron Finch found some form when scoring 55 runs in the three-wicket T20 win over Pakistan.
Australia are 10/3 to win and defend their T20 World Cup title and can take plenty of heart from the one-off T20 win over Pakistan.
Critics answered
Australia won the Test series 1-0 in Pakistan, before losing the ODI series 2-1. So they will be happy to go out on a high and so too will Finch after some poor form with the bat.
Pakistan had set a total of 8-162 but Australia managed to pass it with five balls to spare with Finch playing a crucial role.
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It was Finch’s biggest knock since he scored 79 runs in a T20 international against New Zealand back in March 2021 and he was delighted to show that he has still got what it takes.
“I always knew that I could play a little bit so I think the most vulnerable you are in the game as a batsman is your first handful of balls,” Finch said. “Just in the last few innings I didn’t get through that initial period. I always had confidence, I always had faith and it’s one of those things you go through, some lean patches at times.
“Everyone can seem to panic at times, especially as players get a bit older, people panic quicker. The support I’ve had from the players and the coaching staff has been fantastic.”
Duo also step up
Finch may have top scored with 55 runs but there were also a couple of very timely cameos from Travis Head and Marcus Stoinis as Australia chased the total.
Head made 26 off 14 balls, while Stoinis hit 23 off just nine.
