No Glenn Maxwell? No worries. Australia’s got Marcus Stoinis instead.
The host nation cruised home to a seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in the third T20 international, with Stoinis dominating with bat in hand.
Stoinis smacked a whopping 61 runs off just 27 balls, headlined by 10 scintillating boundaries that lit up Bellerive Oval in Hobart on Monday night.
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A no-ball provided Australia with the clean-sweep series victory.
Stoinis stood tall at the crease after teammate and star batter Glenn Maxwell went down with a low-grade hamstring injury in the field early in the match, wiping him out of the game.
Marcus Stoinis smacked 61 runs off 27 balls in the third T20 match against Pakistan. Getty
On the other end of the scale, Pakistan’s nightmare T20 series ended with a miserly score of 117, bowled out in 18.1 overs after another bad patch.
It was a bowling masterclass from the Australians again, with Aaron Hardie the star of the show, taking 3-21 off four overs.
It was only Babar Azam who stood tall for the visitors.
However, he was forced to wander off Bellerive after a magnificent clean bowl from Adam Zampa (2-11) saw him fall for 41 off 28 in the 13th over.
It’s the second time this summer that Zampa has dismissed Babar.
Glenn Maxwell grabs at his left hamstring. Fox Cricket
Moments later, Spencer Johnson (2-24) ran out Ifran Khan (10 off eight balls) after the batting pair miscommunicated their timing.
Hardie had his second wicket just four balls later, with Abbas Afridi (1 off eight) caught on the boundary by Matt Short.
Australia looked in complete control with six overs remaining with Pakistan reeling at 7-92, before finishing off the job soon after.
Jake Fraser-McGurk again failed to find his feet at the crease, notching 18 off 11 before being forced to walk again.
Australia celebrates winning the series after game three. Getty
It was captain Josh Inglis alongside Stoinis who broke the game open with a 55-run partnership off just 38 deliveries.
The game was put to bed as Stoinis let loose, smacking one of his five sixes onto the roof.
“When he’s going like that, he’s really hard to stop,” Inglis said post-game on Fox Cricket.
Stoinis was named player of the match for his heroic batting efforts.
Spencer Johnson of Australia receives the player of the series award after game three of the T20 series against Pakistan. Getty
Johnson was named player of the series for his eight wickets across three matches, headlined by a five-wicket haul in Sydney.
“Every opportunity to play for Australia is a good one and hopefully I can continue to do that,” he said on Fox Cricket.
“It’s been a great week, we’ve had a lot of fun as a group,” Inglis added.