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Among the notable absentees from the Indian squad for the 2023 World Cup was veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan. Normally seen as a player who comes good in ICC tournaments, Dhawan pretty much lost his place in the starting XI in ODIs and T20Is in the years since the 2019 World Cup.
It doesn’t mean he isn’t paying attention to the tournament though. This was testified by the fact that Dhawan couldn’t help but say something online about Pakistan’s fielding during their warm-up match on Tuesday against Australia. “Pakistan & fielding never ending love story #PakistanFielding #PakCricket,” said Dhawan in his post on ‘X’ with a video attached of Mohammad Wasim and Mohammad Nawaz both trying to avoid a collision with each other and letting the ball go past them.
The match itself turned out to be a bit of a thriller, as did Afghanistan’s warm-up against Sri Lanka. India’s warm-up match against Netherlands in Thiruvananthapuram, meanwhile, was washed out, as was the case with their first warm-up match against England in Guwahati. Australia registered a 14-run victory over Pakistan, with many star players finding their form once again. Australia’s captain, Pat Cummins, won the toss and opted to bat, a decision that went on to decide the fate of the game.
David Warner, who called Hyderabad his home for a number of years when he led the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, scored 48 off 33 balls to lay the foundation of a high-scoring game. Marnus Labuschagne played an eye-catching knock, contributing 40 runs, while Glenn Maxwell’s fireworks lit up Australia’s as he struck 77 off merely 57 deliveries.
Cameron Green (50*) and Josh Inglis (48) played handy knocks and added crucial runs to the scoreboard. Australia’s collective effort from the batting unit saw them post an imposing 351/7 from their allotted 50 overs.
Pakistan began the mammoth chase with Fakhar Zaman (22) and Imam-ul-Haq (16) aiming to provide an ideal foundation. However, Australian bowlers led by Cummins found consistent breakthroughs and kept the game on balanced terms.
Captain Babar Azam’s brilliance was on display as he arrived at No. 6, and took on the opposition bowlers to score a scintillating knock of 90 before retiring. Despite his heroics, Pakistan found the required run rate too much to deal with. Iftikhar Ahmed’s valiant knock of 83 and Mohammad Nawaz’s explosive 50 kept Pakistan’s hopes momentarily alive.
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