Image: Marcus Stoinis helped Australia to victory over Pakistan / © NDTV Sports
Australia’s chase was set in motion by the aggressive start from Stoinis, who wasted no time in taking control of the match. His aggressive strokeplay included a massive six that landed on the roof of the stadium, as he powered Australia’s run chase in record time. The partnership with Josh Inglis (27) was pivotal, adding 55 runs before Inglis was dismissed. Stoinis, however, continued his butchering over the Pak bowlers, bringing up his half-century with yet another towering six and remaining unbeaten to see Australia over the line. About this innings Aussie batter and his teammate Josh Inglis remarked:
When he’s going like that, it’s really hard to stop. One of those sixes was probably the biggest I’ve seen.
Earlier, Pakistan was bowled out for 117 after opting to bat. Babar Azam top-scored with 41, but Aaron Hardie’s 3-21 and tight bowling from Australia restricted Pakistan to a total that never seemed enough. Stoinis’s heroics with the bat capped off a dominant performance from the hosts, who had already won the previous two games by 29 runs and 13 runs.
With his impressive all-round performance, Stoinis was deservedly named Player of the Match, and his destructive batting continued to be a key highlight in Australia’s clean sweep of the series.