That's it from all of us. Thank you for tuning in. See you tomorrow for the final of the series. Goodbye and goodnight :)
Mitchell Marsh, Australia Captain: Well done to Pakistan, hopefully we turn around tomorrow. The series was still alive before today, as I said Pakistan outplayed us. Hopefully we can improve and come back tomorrow. They put us under great pressure in the powerplay; it was probably a 160-170 wicket. We have got experienced guys who know that partnerships are really important in run-chases. We were not able to do that today. So some really good lessons.
Salman Ali Agha, Pakistan Captain & Player of the Match: It has to be a perfect game. We batted well in the powerplay and middle and we were outstanding with the ball. Fielding was outstanding. I can easily say it was a perfect game for us and we want to replicate it tomorrow. That's why I promoted myself at No. 3 because I know I can play spin well and intend to do the same in Sri Lanka. (On Usman Khan's knock) We know he is a very good player of spin bowling, probably the best player in our team against spin. We knew his ability and we know it's going to come soon. Hope he plays in the same way. We want to continue to play in the same way and I want the same from my team....tp forget the 2-0 and come again (play in the same fashion). Hopefully we can come and entertain the Lahore crowd again tomorrow.
Opting to bat first on a relatively better pitch, Pakistan went all guns blazing and stuck to their aggressive style of play. Saim Ayub got to 23 in no time and then Salman Agha brought every shot in his armory to the fore, racing to 76 off 40 balls and never allowing anyone to settle. Babar Azam couldn't create an impact once again and was struck LBW by Adam Zampa for two. From there, Usman Khan stepped up and scored a pivotal half-century, ensuring the platform for a big score wasn't thrown away. In the end, Pakistan posted an impregnable total taking into consideration their rich spin bowling resources. Australia never really got going and Pakistan's introduction of spinners in the powerplay worked perfectly. There was no innings of note, only some starts, making it a one-sided contest in the end as Australia's struggles against spin continue. Pakistan were smart and assessed the conditions splendidly, bowling slower than their counterparts. Abrar Ahmed and Shadab Khan picked up three wickets each, Usman Tariq got two and Mohammad Nawaz was tidy as well. There was no respite for the visitors and wickets kept falling regularly. A lot of thinking and reflection awaits Australia before the all-important World Cup. They will need Steve Smith and perhaps Glenn Maxwell, both with heaps of experience playing in the subcontinent
Mustafa Moudi : "While Australia have dominated in other 2 Formats, they have failed to do well in this shortest format which is the reason why it took really long for them to lift the first T20 WC and that too with bit of Luck. I feel they need to focus on Specialists, who can also bat sensibly rather than a Lot of All-Rounders who just believe in slogging without actually shaping their innings towards the target !!"
Umer: "Call it a B team or whatever but this is some seriously good performace by the Pakistan team just on the erge of the worldcup"
Ryan: "If Babar's batting can match his catching, his stocks will certainly rise. Really feel for him."
Aabis: "Reckon this is the perfect combination for Pakistan. They should keep this playing eleven for the t20 world cup in Sri Lanka. Conditions there will suit spinners. With addition of Faheem Ashraf, they will have an option of a fast medium if need be, otherwise play one between Naseem/Shaheen/Salman Mirza and keep Usman Tariq, Abrar, Shadab, Nawaz, Saim Ayub. Agha can also spin his arm if need be. There can't be a better bowling attack considering spin conditions in Sri Lanka."
sheppy_ son97: "I've long thought the ICC need to consider removing the toss in bilateral international games. How many times do we see the toss determining who wins especially in the subcontinent. The idea behind no toss would mean the home teams would prepare much more balanced pitches knowing they have to bat/bowl under the worst conditions"