Women's T20 WC: Australia breeze past Pakistan to 9-wicket win

Australia clinched its 14th consecutive win in the Women's T20 World Cup without breaking a sweat following a comprehensive 9-wicket win over Pakistan on Friday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Australia's dominant display was soured by injuries as they cruised to a comfortable win and maintained their spot at the summit of Group A. Australia received an early blow in the first inning after losing pacer Tayla Vlaeminck to a shoulder injury picked up in the field.

While chasing a paltry total of 83, the defending champions then went on to lose skipper Alyssa Healy, after she picked up an injury while taking a quick single. Australia lost Beth Mooney early to Sadia Iqbal after scoring run-a-ball 15. Healy continued her onslaught and emerged as the top scorer after slamming 37 off 23 deliveries. Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner stayed on the field with the former hitting the winning runs with more than nine overs to spare. Earlier in the match, Australia put Pakistan to bat with the aim of restricting them to a low score.

Australia picked two early wickets to reduce Pakistan to 23/2 in the opening six overs. Muneeba Ali was the first to depart after lofting a catch to Phoebe Litchfield off Sophie Molineux for 7. Sadaf Shamas soon joined her back in the dressing room after getting caught behind off Megan Schutt for 3.

Australia's impressive depth in bowling was on display as they picked up two further wickets with their change bowlers. Sidra Amin was trapped in front of the stumps by Annabel Sutherland for a score of 12, further putting Pakistan in a peculiar situation. Georgia Wareham dismissed Omaima Sohail for a score of 3 to leave Pakistan hanging by a thread, with an urgent need to rebuild.

Aliya Riaz tried to offer a moment of reprieve with her slow-paced 26 off 32 deliveries on the penultimate ball of the first inning. Ashleigh Gardner starred with a four-wicket haul in her four-over spell while giving away 21 runs. Annabel Sutherland and Georgia Wareham chipped in with two wickets each, which didn't allow Pakistan to recover from the early loss.

Brief Score: Pakistan 82 (Aliya Riaz 26; Ashleigh Gardner 4-21, Annabel Sutherland 2-15) vs Australia 83/1 (Alyssa Healy 37, Ellyse Perry 22*; Sadia Iqbal 1-17). (ANI)