Australia beat Pakistan by 5 wickets in the second semi-final of the World Twenty20. Score – Pakistan 176–4 in 20 overs; Australia 177–5 in 19 overs. Australia will face New Zealand in Sunday’s final.
Legendary Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar predicted that Pakistan-New Zealand would wait for the final and that New Zealand would face a lot of stress in the final. However, Australia’s final berth was achieved by cricket’s motto ‘Nothing is impossible’. This is Pakistan’s first defeat in the tournament.
Marcus Stoines (40 not out off 31 balls with 2 fours and 6 sixes) and Matthew Wade (41 off 17 balls with 2 fours and 4 sixes) led Australia to victory.
With 5 wickets in hand, Australia needed 62 runs in the last 5 overs. Marcus Stoines and Matthew Wade put on 12 runs in the 16th over and 13 runs in the 17th over to help Australia reach 37 off the last 18 balls. Until then, Pakistan had dominated the match. Australia needed 22 runs in the last 2 overs to win.
Shaheen Afridi, who conceded just two runs off the first two balls of the 19th over, got off to a good start. But Pakistan Pay a big price when Hasan Ali dropped an easy catch off Wade in the 3rd ball. Wade, who doubled in the 3rd over, hit three sixes in a row to give Pakistan the victory.
David Warner (49 off 30 balls with three fours and six sixes), Mitchell Marsh (28 off 22 balls with three fours and a six), Aaron Finch (0 off one) and Steve Smith (5 off 6 balls) and Glenn Maxwell (7 off 10 balls) were other contributors to the score.
In the first over, Shaheen Afridi stunned Australia by knocking captain Aaron Finch in front of the wicket. Shadab Khan took the next 4 wickets. Aussies were 96–5 when Maxwell returned after being caught by Harris Rauf when trying to hit Shadab’s ball for a boundary. The Stoines-Wade duo then combined for 81 off 40 balls! Shadab Khan, who took four wickets for just 26 runs, was the top bowler in Pakistan. Shaheen Afridi took one wicket for 35 runs in 4 overs.
Both the table-toppers from Group 1 and 2 were eliminated. In the finals of the ICC T20 World cup to be held on Sunday, Aussies will face Kiwis.
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