T20 WC 2021, SF 2: PAK vs AUS Review – Wade-Stoinis stop Pakistan’s dream run

Australia won a thrilling semi-final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium against Pakistan. The match went down to the wire but the Aussies finally got the win with an over to spare and by a margin of five wickets. The win now sets up the final between the Trans Tasman rivals, Australia and New Zealand on November 14.

Australia won the toss and elected to bowl first. Pakistan followed a similar template as far as their batting approach was concerned. Babar Azam was dismissed for 39 runs from 34 balls but his opening partner Mohammad Rizwan went ahead to get a fifty. Fakhar Zaman batted beautifully for his 55 runs from 32 balls and was brilliant at the death. Rizwan was dismissed for 67 runs from 52 balls. Pakistan ended with 176 for 4. Mitchell Starc picked up two wickets while Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa picked up a wicket each.

Australia lost their skipper Aaron Finch in the first over itself. But David Warner with his 49 runs from 30 balls and Mitchell Marsh with his 28 runs from 22 balls rebuilt the innings. However, at one point, the Aussies lost a few quick wickets and were 96 for 5. That is exactly when Matthew Wade and Marcus Stoinis got together to forge another rebuild.

Pakistan were in the game for the longest but with 18 runs needed off nine balls, Wade smashed three sixes to finish the game. Stoinis was brilliant for his 40 runs from 31 balls while Wade smashed 41 runs from 17 balls. For Pakistan, Shadab Khan ended with figures of 4 for 26 and was responsible for the mini-collapse which Australia had in the middle.

Top performers:

David Warner: Had Australia lost the match, people would have looked back at the moment when Warner walked out despite not nicking it to the keeper. He scored 49 vital runs and held the top order together despite not a lot of contribution around him.

Wade-Stoinis stand: After the spell of Shadab, Pakistan were well and truly in the game. But the 81 runs stand between the two designated finishers, who generally enjoy batting at the top order was quite fantastic. They handled the pressure of the semi-final and despite not having a lot of batting after them, the pair knew when to take the risk and their execution under pressure was fantastic.

Records/Achievements:

• David Warner now has 236 runs in this tournament, the third-highest run-getter for Australia in any edition of the T20 World Cup. Matthew Hayden’s tally of 265 runs in 2007 and Shane Watson’s tally of 249 runs in 2012 are ahead of Warner till now.
• Aaron Finch has the joint-most ducks by a captain in a single edition (2). Eoin Morgan in 2016 and William Porterfield in 2012 previously held the record.

Way ahead:

As a result of this, Pakistan bowed out of the tournament with five wins and one loss. Australia will play their second T20 World Cup final on November 14.