T20I TRI-SERIES IN ZIMBABWE 2018 Live Cricket Score - Zimbabwe vs Australia, T20I tri-series, Match 6 by Cricbuzz Staff • Last updated on Live Score Updates Australia 154-5 (19.5 Ovs) Marcus Stoinis 12 (7) Zimbabwe 151-9 Donald Tiripano 3.5-0-27-1 Australia won by 5 wkts Live Scores Full Scorecard Australia sealed a nervy win by five wickets. © AFP That's it from us folks! Hope you enjoyed the contest. Until next time then ... Post-match thoughts below - Aaron Finch: "They bowled well towards the end. We probably made it more difficult than we had to. It's important to get some time in the middle. If we can polish up a few areas in all three facets, we will be in a good position. I thought we executed really well with the ball towards the death of the innings." Andrew Tye (Man of the Match): "I have been working on trying to take wickets at crucial times. I have been pretty lucky in the series picking up wickets at the death. I try to mix the rhythm up by changing the pace. The energy within the group is really gearing up towards the final." Hamilton Masakadza: "The guys fought hard there and took it till the end. The wicket played a little bit slower than expected. We spoke about coming back from the first two games. I am sure we will keep getting better as we move towards the ODI series against Pakistan." THAT'S THAT - AUSTRALIA WIN BY FIVE WICKETS So another loss for Zimbabwe as they end the T20I tri-series without a win. Australia probably would have wanted to bat first but with the toss not going in their favour, they were forced to first. Once set 152, a below-par target, they had a splendid opportunity to experiment and yet there were no surprises. With D'Arcy Short dropped, Aaron Finch walked out to open with Alex Carey. Finch's early dismissal came as a blessing in disguise for the visitors as the onus fell upon the middle-order to complete the chase. Carey, too, failed and was dismissed in the fifth over. Australia had made a slow start with just 35 coming in the Powerplay. Travis Head and Glenn Maxwell, in desperate need of a hit in the middle, propelled the team forward in the chase with a 106-run stand. While it was certainly a promising sign of two individuals taking responsibility, Nic Maddinson, Marcus Stoinis and Jack Wildermuth, who made his debut in the game, head into the final without much time in the middle. Maxwell fell soon after reaching his half-century but by then Australia needed 23 off 23. Maddinson came and failed while Head too was dismissed for 48, 13 shy of the target. The chase was done and dusted by the 14th over as Maxwell and Head bullied the Zimbabwe bowlers into submission before a late wobble put the Australian middle-order in the spotlight again. HEAD FALLS: Zimbabwe aren't giving up just yet. Head falls now. Maddinson came and failed. They still need 13 off 10 with Stoinis and Agar out in the middle. WICKET: Maxwell falls for 56 as Maddinson comes out to bat. Surely this is over for Zimbabwe but the wicket should give them some consolation. 100-RUN STAND: So Head and Maxwell have bullied the Zimbabwe bowlers into submission here. They've now scored 102 off 69 to leave just 24 runs in the final four overs. Maxwell has registered his half-century while Head is unbeaten on 45. Australia 128 for 2 50 up for Australia after nine overs. They need 93 off 66 now. END OF POWERPLAY - Australia 35 for 2 Slow start in the chase for Australia as they lost two early wickets. Both openers fell cheaply and Zimbabwe have managed to make the game more interesting now after posting a below par total of 151. CAREY GONE NOW: Muzarabani gets the wicket as Carey edges one behind to the 'keeper. Loose from him really. Maxwell out in the middle to take the chase forward. Australia 27 for 2 EARLY WICKET: Zimbabwe have managed to get rid of Finch early on. He falls for 3 and this could well be a blessing in disguise. The Australian middle-order needs to get a hit. With Finch gone, the responsibility is on them now. Australia 18 for 1 Alrighty then, Finch and Carey out to open. Wellington Masakadza to bowl the first over. END OF INNINGS - Zimbabwe 151 for 9 Mire helps Zimbabwe finish with a decent total but Australia finish strong with quick wickets in the end. He ends with his second consecutive half-century in the series. Australia will be happy with the target. Now it's time for their batsmen to spend time in the middle and prepare for the final against Pakistan. They are too reliant on Finch at the moment and this is a good opportunity for them to find form. 50 FOR MIRE - Gets there off 44 balls. Four overs to go. Big four overs for Zimbabwe as well. MOOR FALLS: The 68-run stand comes to an end. Sliced to deep point and caught by Maddinson. Moor goes just when they were accelerating. They had scored 43 runs in the last four overs and looked good for more. Onus on Mire now to finish strong. Zimbabwe 112 for 4 15 overs done - Zimbabwe 113 for 5 50-RUN STAND: Mire and Moor have steadied Zimbabwe here with a half-century stand and taken them close to the 100-run mark. They needed this after being 44 for 3 and were in serious danger of being bowled out for a paltry score. From here on, they can push on to post a challenging total. Zimbabwe 98 for 3. 10 OVERS DONE - ZIMBABWE 65 for 3 TWO FOR STANLAKE: Musakanda looked good but his promising stay has been ended early by Stanlake. Wildermuth, who made a mess of a catch early on, has made up with this one. Wide and slashed to third man. Zimbabwe 44 for 3 after six overs. TWO DOWN: Richardson strikes now.<doc-sep>Zimbabwe vs Australia (t20) Catch all the action from the sixth match between Australia and Zimbabwe through our live commentary. Zimbabwe's bowlers could be forgiven for not relishing another tussle with Australia, given that only a few days ago Aaron Finch took 172 off them, breaking his own record for the highest T20I score and leading Australia to 229/2 and an eventual 100-run victory. However, the hosts can take heart from a much-improved performance against Pakistan in the match that followed when they posted 162/4 and were only beaten with five balls to spare. Australia also showed some vulnerabilities in their most recent encounter with Pakistan, subsiding to 149/7 and losing by 45 runs, and Zimbabwe will be hoping to exploit those weaknesses. Finch's side particularly struggled against 18-year-old fast bowler Shaheen Afridi, who used his height and pace to great effect, and Blessing Muzarabani, the tall Zimbabwean seamer, will have watched on with interest. For Australia, it is a chance experiment as they seek to find a winning formula ahead of the tri-series final against Pakistan on 8 July.<doc-sep>Toggle between tabs for LIVE score and ball-by-ball updates Preview: Shaheen Afridi took out three Australia top-order batsmen as Pakistan won their last round-robin match in the Twenty20 tri-series by 45 runs on Thursday. The 18-year-old left-arm fast bowler gave away 37 runs for the key wickets of captain Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell, and D'Arcy Short to restrict Australia's chase to 149-7. Earlier, opening batsman Fakhar Zaman maintained a brilliant run of form by scoring 73 off 42 deliveries and Asif Ali hit a rapid 37 off 18 balls to provide Pakistan with an imposing total of 194-7. Both teams have already qualified for Sunday's final. Australia, who defeated Pakistan by nine wickets on Monday, will take on Zimbabwe in a dead rubber on Friday, having beaten the host by 100 runs earlier. "Afridi has been part of the last two, three series, so we wanted to give him an opportunity. Glad he did well," Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed said. "Fakhar, too, he was superb. Today's surface wasn't the easiest." Finch couldn't have asked for a better start after he won the toss and elected to field when Jhye Richardson dismissed Haris Sohail off his very first delivery. But the Australians were sloppy in the field as Marcus Stoinis dropped Hussain Talat on 9 at mid-off which could have reduced Pakistan to 19-2. Talat went on to score 30 and contributed to a 72-run stand with Zaman for the second wicket before he was bowled by offspinner Maxwell. Zaman then took charge and hammered nine fours and three sixes before he mistimed a pull shot of seamer Stoinis and was caught at mid-wicket. Asif and Malik (27 off 15 balls) then propelled Pakistan in the last five overs which yielded 60 runs despite Andrew Tye finishing with 3-35. "We didn't get going all day, long way off with the ball and on the field, couldn't then get any partnerships with the bat," Finch said. "This was a 170 wicket, we let them get away, our fielding was sloppy as well. They stuck to basic plans and did well." Afridi, who impressed in this year's Under-19 World Cup, struck three blows upfront that took the game away from Australia. Finch, who scored a world-record 172 against Zimbabwe and a rapid half-century against Pakistan in the first game, tried to play across the line and was caught behind for 16. Maxwell fell lbw to a superb Afridi in-swinger on 10, and Short's struggling 28-run knock off 34 balls ended in the 13th over when he was clean bowled by Afridi. Alex Carey top-scored with 37 to reduce the margin of defeat, but Australia couldn't recover after losing half of its side for 75 runs when Short departed. With inputs from AP<doc-sep>Toggle between tabs for LIVE score and ball-by-ball updates Match 4 Report: Pakistan had five balls to spare when it beat Zimbabwe by seven wickets on Wednesday and eliminated the African host from the Twenty20 tri-series tournament. Solomon Mire missed out on the chance to become Zimbabwe's first century-maker in a T20 international as his 94-run knock carried Zimbabwe to 162-4 after captain Hamilton Masakadza lost his first toss in the tri-series and his team was put in to bat. Opener Fakhar Zaman (47) and Hussain Talat (44) led Pakistan to 163-3 in 19.1 overs against an inexperienced bowling attack as Pakistan registered its second win against Zimbabwe. It was Zimbabwe's third straight loss. Australia plays against Pakistan on Thursday before both teams meet in Sunday's final. Mire stood tall against Pakistan's full-strength attack as left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Amir (1-25) got his first game of the series and replaced Usman Khan. Mire and Cephas Zhuwao (24) provided a solid opening partnership of 49 runs before Tarisai Musakanda (33) added 64 runs for the third wicket with Mire. Mire, who hit six sixes and six fours, reached his half-century off 32 balls when he hoisted left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz for a six over long off in the 11th over. Pakistan struggled for wickets despite seamer Faheem Ashraf (1-24) and leg-spinner Shadab Khan (1-28) bowling a decent four overs each in the middle overs. Mire looked set to become the first Zimbabwe batsman to score a century in a Twenty20 before he holed out at deep mid-wicket off seamer Talat in the 18th over — only a ball after Asif Ali missed a sitter at deep square leg. Mire also featured in two dismissals during Pakistan's innings as he took a fine catch in the deep to dismiss Haris Sohail. He then denied Zaman a half century through his medium pace when the left-hander was caught at mid-on. Captain Sarfraz Ahmed (38 not out) and experienced Shoaib Malik (12 not out) kept their composure and carried Pakistan home. Ahmed was not happy with his bowlers, saying it "was not up to the mark, they have to work hard." With inputs from AP<doc-sep>
TRI-SERIES IN ZIMBABWE Head, Maxwell star in Australia's nervy win by Cricbuzz Staff • Published on Glenn Maxwell (left) scored a brisk half-century in Australia's win. © AFP Australia came into the contest against Zimbabwe aiming to polish all the rough edges ahead of the T20I tri-series final against Pakistan. However, they will enter the all-important clash with the same worries they had ahead of the clash. While they did seal a win over the hosts - this time by seven wickets in Harare - the middle-order is yet to produce a substantial performance to inspire confidence. Australia probably would have wanted to bat first but with the toss not going in their favour, they were asked to chase. Once set 152, a below-par target, they had a splendid opportunity to experiment and yet there were no surprises. With D'Arcy Short dropped, Aaron Finch walked out to open with Alex Carey. Finch's early dismissal came as a blessing in disguise for the visitors as the onus fell upon the middle-order to complete the chase. Carey, too, failed and was dismissed in the fifth over. Australia had made a slow start with just 35 coming in the Powerplay. Travis Head and Glenn Maxwell, in desperate need of a hit in the middle, propelled the team forward in the chase with a 106-run stand. While it was certainly a promising sign of two individuals taking responsibility, Nic Maddinson, Marcus Stoinis and Jack Wildermuth, who made his debut in the game, head into the final without much time in the middle. Maxwell fell soon after reaching his half-century but by then Australia needed 23 off 23. Maddinson came and failed while Head too was dismissed for 48, 13 shy of the target. The chase was done and dusted by the 14th over as Maxwell and Head bullied the Zimbabwe bowlers into submission before a late wobble put the Australian middle-order in the spotlight again. Earlier, Solomon Mire (63) scored his second consecutive half-century to give the bowlers something to work with. In yet another disappointing performance, the hosts found themselves in plenty of trouble at 44 for 3 in the sixth over. They were in danger of folding for a paltry target before Peter Moor and Mire steadied the innings. After 44 runs came in the Powerplay, Zimbabwe scored just 35 in the next seven overs. This was when Moor and Mire laid the platform for the late flourish. The duo scored 43 runs in the four overs leading up to Moor's wicket in the 16th over. That dismissal also opened the floodgates as they lost six wickets in the last seven overs after scoring 72 runs. Mire reached his half century off 44 deliveries and pushed the team towards the 150-run mark before falling in the final over. Australia will play Pakistan in the final at the same venueon Sunday(July 8). Brief scores: Zimbabwe 151/9 in 20 overs (Solomon Mire 63; Andrew Tye 3-38) lost to Australia 154/5 in 19.5 overs (Glenn Maxwell 56) by five wickets. © Cricbuzz TAGS RELATED STORIES