Australia came back from the brink of defeat to beat Pakistan by five wickets in another gripping ICC Men’s Twenty/20 Cricket World Cup semi-final at Dubai yesterday.
Needing 20 off the final 10 balls, wicket-keeper/batsman, Matthew Wade was dropped by Hassan Ali before he hit the next three deliveries for sixes to complete Australia’s stunning chase of 176-4 off 20 overs scored by Pakistan who were put in to bat first.
Australia had been struggling at 96-5, despite an aggressive 49 off 30 balls from opening batsman, David Warner, before Wade’s 41 not out off 17 balls with 2 fours and 4 sixes, and Marcus Stoinis’ 40 not out off 31 balls staged a grandstand finish for their team. Their remarkable, unbeaten 6th wicket stand of 81 in 6.4 overs took Australia to victory with an over to spare, and silenced a largely Pakistan-supporting crowd. Warner and Mitchell Marsh (28 off 22 balls) had earlier shared a 51-run partnership for the second wicket for Australia.
Opening batsman/Wicket-keeper, Mohammad Rizwan (67 off 52 with 3 fours and 4 sixes), Fakhar Zaman (55 not out off 32 balls with 3 fours and 4 sixes), and captain, Babar Azam (39 off 34 balls) enabled Pakistan to reach 176-4 off their 20 overs.
The final scores: Pakistan 176-4 off 20 overs, Australia 177-5 off 19 overs.
It was a second thrilling semi-final in 24 hours after New Zealand’s dramatic 5-wicket victory over England in Wednesday’s semi-final.
Australia and New Zealand, neither of whom have won the ICC Twenty/20 Cricket World Cup will meet in the final at Dubai on Sunday at 10.00 a. m.
NBC will carry live coverage of the match.
You must be logged in to post a comment.