Two Semi-Finals. Two wins with an over to spare. And two tournament favorites out of the final’s race in an almost similar fashion. These were the words that must have lingered on each spectator’s mind who witnessed last night’s game between Pakistan and Australia. Although the game was touted to be Pakistan’s game for most of the match, it ultimately slipped from their hands (figuratively and literally). Pakistan lost the battle by five wickets and an over to spare.
Aussies’ unusual tactics in bowling
When Aussies asked Pakistan to bat first, it was already the biggest challenge Pakistan could have faced in this tournament – batting first and setting a target against a quality bowling lineup. And they went on to do exactly that and accomplished their first task.
Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan did what they have been doing this whole tournament and this time went one step ahead by posting Pakistan’s highest Powerplay score of this tournament (47 runs for no loss). Also, this was the fourth time in six matches Pakistan have survived Powerplay without losing a wicket, a testament to what this golden pair is up to this tournament.
The only thing which this pair was lacking was the strike rate, which ultimately saw Babar’s demise from the crease. However, Rizwan stayed to the crease and notched up 67 runs at a pleasant strike rate of 128.85; in the process became the first individual to score more than 1000 runs in a year in T20Is.
For Australia, though, there were indeed some unusual tactics been played by Aaron Finch. Moreover, even in the presence of quality pace bowlers, Glenn Maxwell was continuously used against two in-form right-handers, which may have been why Pakistan dominated the PP.
Even Mitchell Starc was not called back after his one over, their best bet to take a wicket. Nevertheless, Australia’s find of the tournament, Adam Zampa, still shined and provided some brake to the run rate (Economy of 5.5 rpo).
Fakhar rises again in a Knockout game
In the end, for Pakistan, though, they had a record to change – they have not beaten Australia in an ICC knockout game, and for them to post a challenge, they needed to post a score above 160. And this time, Fakhar Zaman, the man for the knockout matches, rose to fulfill that role. Zaman, who was the only Pakistani batter left to make a mark in this tournament, slammed 55 runs off 32 balls, providing a much-needed impetus in the innings.
Zaman did not let go of Pakistan’s death over run rate record of this World Cup. Pakistan’s death overs run rate is 13.09 in this tournament. No other team has a run rate over 12.00 RPO in this phase.
Warner saw through the first half; Stoinis – Wade ensured the win
The highly spoken Pakistani bowling lineup struck from the first over itself and started removing wickets one by one. While Shaheen Afridi was in his usual form, Shadab Khan indeed became the menace for the Aussies.
In T20Is in 2021, Australia has averaged 11.41 against leg-spin and have lost a wicket every 9.5 balls. No Full Member nation has a worse record in that time by either metric. This stat was further proved in Shadab Khan’s every over. He managed to get a wicket in each of his four overs.
For most of the part, Pakistan had the upper hand in the first ten overs, even though Australia had maintained the required run rate, thanks to David Warner. The fall of the top order had put the Aussies in a critical position, but still, Warner was playing fearlessly and was enjoying the game like no other batter (49 runs in 30 balls). Before departing after a controversial dismissal, Warner ensured that his team had enough runs to build the fightback.
After Maxwell’s departure in the 13th over, the focus came down to Marcus Stoinis and Matthew Wade. Since the last T20 World Cup, Australia had scored 50 off the final four overs of the innings only on three occasions. This time, not only this record but also Pakistani fans’ hearts were broken. Pakistan had a safe chance of grabbing Wade’s wicket (who ultimately won the match for Australia), but Hasan Ali’s dropped catch made his team suffer. Nevertheless, Wade went on to seal the game in the 19th over itself and pushed his side into the finals.
Conclusion
For Australia, they’ll be soaking in the feeling of this hell of a game. At the same time, Pakistan will think about what happened in that 19th over for many years. Quite a poetic match for both the involved teams. Another left-handed Australian snatched away Pakistan’s win in the T20 World Cup semi-final (Mike Hussey in the 2010 World Cup).
Wade was the hero for Australia, and Hasan Ali, the villain for Pakistan. Of course, nobody goes with an intent to drop a catch, but this sour taste in the mouth will take some years for Pakistan to let go.
Also, with this match and the previous 16 T20 matches in Dubai, it’s now solidified that you bat second and take away the win. Only one victory has been achieved batting first here (the IPL final). One more exciting stat of this game is that 177 is the highest target successfully chased down in T20 World Cups without an individual 50+ score.
With all the tournament favorites out of the competition, the World Cup has undoubtedly been entertaining and unpredictable. The toss has undeniably played a huge role this World Cup, but let’s hope the teams in the final won’t have to rely on this factor. Both the teams in the final have produced unexpected wins, and both have strong cases to win the golden trophy on Friday.