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.
