Australia vs Pakistan women highlights: Defending champions Australia beat Pakistan by nine wickets with nine overs to spare in a Group A match of the Women's T20 World Cup here on Friday, thanks to a superb bowling performance by right-arm offspinner Ashleigh Gardner (four for 21).

Australia thus became a strong contender to qualify for the semi-finals with six points from their third consecutive win. Apart from Gardner, Annabel Sutherland and Georgia Wareham took two wickets each as Australia bundled out Pakistan for 82 runs in 19.5 overs.

Alyssa Hill is injured.

Australia, which had won both its opening matches, achieved this target in 11 overs by losing one wicket. For them, Beth Mooney scored 15 runs while Alyssa Perry remained unbeaten on 22 runs. Captain Alyssa Healy retired hurt after scoring 37 runs, which will be a matter of concern for the team. For the injured Pakistani team, only four batsmen could reach double figures, in which Alia Riaz was the top scorer with 26 runs.

Superb bowling from Australia

The Australian bowler bowled on the stumps and did not allow the Pakistani players to play freely.

Pakistan looked very cautious during the powerplay and after a slow start, they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. None of their batsmen could perform. Only Sidra Amin (12 runs), Nida Dar (10), and Iram Javed (12) could reach double figures. Regular captain Fatima Sana had to return to Karachi due to the death of her father while Diana Baig is out due to an injury sustained in the first match. This is the first match of the tournament for Sadaf Shams and Iram Javed for Pakistan.