Welcome to the highlights of the T20 World Cup 2021 Semifinal 2 between Australia and Pakistan. This was Santadeep Dey , bringing you all the action as it unfolded at the Dubai International Stadium.
PAK vs AUS HIGHLIGHTS
RESULT: AUSTRALIA WINS BY FIVE WICKETS
AUSTRALIA INNINGS
AUS 177/5 in 19 overs: 22 runs. 12 balls. That is where the equation stands. Just short! Rizwan stays low again as an edge off Stoinis' willow dips just ahead of him. Pakistan reviews after Gaffaney adjudges Stoinis not out. Pitching outside leg. Pakistan loses a review. Hasan drops Wade! C'mon... A dolly, that. Is Wade taking Australia home? An audacious scoop for six. Hasan would be wanting to dig himself a hole right about now. Two more sixes by Wade. First one over cow corner, the second through fine leg. This is sheer madness! Wade takes the side home with an over to spare.
AUS 155/5 in 18 overs: A little collision between Stoinis and Hasan at the non-striker's end keeps it down to one. Stoinis isn't happy. Cracking six by Wade to bring up the fifty-run stand off 32 balls! A boundary off the last ball means Australia needs 22 off the last two.
AUS 140/5 in 17 overs: Stoinis goes exploring the short side of the boundary off Rauf's bowling. Six. Shadab fails to stop another shot from trickling down to the fence. Four. Will Stoinis/Wade be able to do a Daryl Mitchell/Jimmy Neesham for the Aussies?
AUS 127/5 in 16 overs: Too wide and full from Hasan and Stoinis gets his bat through the line to get a boundary. This is the over the Australians will look to target. Oops, it is a no ball as well. Two runs come off the free hit.
AUS 115/5 in 15 overs: Another run out chance goes abegging. Shaheen misses on this occasion, off his own bowling. Edged by Stoinis next and it flies just past Hafeez at point; somehow at this point wickets seem to be evading Pakistan.
AUS 109/5 in 14 overs: It is that man Shadab again. A direct hit would have seen Wade packing at the non-striker's end. The 'keeper-batsman had given up. Rauf ups the ante with a quicker delivery and an edge off Wade's blade just doesn't carry to Rizwan. Wade scores four next off the slot ball, going flat over Rauf's head. It is all happening here in Dubai.
AUS 103/5 in 13 overs: IT IS A FOUR-FOR FOR SHADAB! What a day he is having... Rauf was stationed at deep third man but Maxwell goes for the reverse-sweep nonetheless and perishes. The very next ball goes for six, just over the fielder at deep mid-wicket. Shadab finishes with 4/26 - best figures by anyone in a T20 WC semifinal.
AUS 95/4 in 12 overs: Imad starts off with three dots, bowling against Stoinis. He only concedes three runs to complete yet another effective over by Babar's boys.
AUS 92/4 in 11 overs: MASSIVE BLOW! Warner gets a feather on it as Rizwan takes a fine catch. Wicket no. 3 for Shadab. Advantage Pakistan. WHAT?! Replays show there is broad daylight between Warner's bat and the ball. Why didn't he go for the review? There was a noise alright; maybe a creak of the handle and that may have played with Warner's judgement.
AUS 89/3 in 10 overs: Warner pulls a short-of-a-length delivery from Hasan behind square. Picks up a single next to bring up his 2500th T20I run. A run out opportunity missed! Warner and Maxwell go for the non-existent single and a direct hit from Fakhar at cover would have seen Warner short by a mile! Time for a drinks break.
AUS 80/3 in 9 overs: Out of the park! Warner picks the leg-break, shimmies down the track and Shadab gets a smacking. And Smith's gone! Doesn't get it off the middle of his bat and Fakhar pouches an easy take at deep mid-wicket. Smith's dismissal brings Maxwell into the crease.
AUS 70/2 in 8 overs: The ball gets stuck in Hafeez's hands while trying to line it up and it ends up reaching Warner on the double bounce. And the southpaw has somehow managed to dispatch it for a huge six. No ball called. A couple of runs come off the free hit. Bowls a wide too; things are not going well for the Professor.
AUS 57/2 in 7 overs: Shadab has worked the oracle! Marsh top-edges, while looking to go for the slog sweep, and Asif has all the time to settle underneath. Smith walks in. Edged and down third man, Smith picks up a boundary after trying to go for a weirdly-angled paddle off the first ball.
AUS 52/1 in 6 overs: Hasan to bowl his first. Marsh stands tall and pulls Hasan square off the second ball. The fifty partnership comes up in only 33 deliveries.
AUS 44/1 in 5 overs: Marsh gets in on the act. Burns a hole in the fence with a 74m six off Rauf's first ball. Follows it up with a boundary, edged and down to deep third man. The class and skill of Marsh is on full display here at the Ring of Fire.
AUS 30/1 in 4 overs: Warner tees off! Stands dead still in his crease, doesn't overhit, and works it away into the deep mid-wicket stands. Two successive fours next. Warner is showing precisely why he is known to be strong against Imad.
AUS 13/1 in 3 overs: A front-foot no ball. Chris Gaffaney, officiating on field, has been intercepted by the third umpire. Seems like there was a part of Shaheen's foot behind the crease though. Free hit coming up. Pakistan gets away with a dot. Driven on the rise through extra cover, has Marsh. Four runs. Shaheen finishes with a vicious yorker.
AUS 6/1 in 2 overs: Imad's known for tightening screws with the new ball in hand quite often when it comes to right-handed batters. How is Marsh going to respond? Gets a couple, pushing one through the gap at backward square leg.
AUS 1/1 in 1 over: Shaheen to Finch . OUT! That's plumb... Shaheen gets the Australian skipper for a golden duck! Swings it in and the ball zips through Finch's forward defence. Wraps him right in front and the umpire raises his finger in a flash. Marsh in at 3. Shaheen crashes the ball into the toes and there's a loud shout once again. The umpire does not concede this time and Pakistan opts for a review. Marsh escapes by a whisker as the replays suggest 'Umpire's Call' on wickets and impact. Nearly two in two there for Shaheen. Swings it once again and squares Marsh up with another corker. The ball whiffs past the inside-edge of Marsh's blade that stays hanging around the off-stump. What. A. Start!
We're back for the chase. David Warner and Aaron Finch in the middle. Shaheen Afridi with the new ball.
PAKISTAN INNINGS
PAK 176/4 in 20 overs: Starc to bowl the last. Malik departs as well - castled. Australia has managed to pull back things to an extent in the last two overs. Starc has now moved past Shane Watson to pick up the most wickets for Australia in T20 WCs - 24. Two back-to-back sixes from Fakhar sees him bring up his fifty off 31 deliveries.
PAK 161/3 in 19 overs: Excellent start to the over for Australia as Asif departs for a golden duck, picking out Smith at long-on. Smith, generally as safe as houses, drops a sitter off the very next ball! Fakhar survives. This has been a brilliant comeback by Cummins though: three runs and a wicket off that over.
PAK 158/2 in 18 overs: Starc starts off with a wide yorker. That'll be the plan alright. Starc sees the back of Rizwan... finally! The fuller ball, this, and Rizwan has misfired it straight into Smith's hands at mid-off. Smoked! Starc misses his length and Fakhar goes BOOM over the Australian's head. SIX. Fakhar on the charge. Straight down the ground for four now off a yorker taken on the full.
PAK 143/1 in 17 overs: Hazlewood to bowl out. Has he got enough on that? Yes, Fakhar has. The strong bottom hand comes into play as he goes down the ground to bring up one of the flattest of sixes over the long-off boundary. A full toss. A no-ball too, to add to that. It has rolled over to the fence. And the free hit has been launched into outer space now. Australia is tumbling over, face down into the ground. 21 of that over: annihilation!
PAK 122/1 in 16 overs: The fifty partnership comes up for the duo with a single. However, it is another excellent over from Zampa with only five singles coming off it.
PAK 117/1 in 15 overs: Cummins tries to bowl the yorker but ends up going waist-high even as Fakhar guides the no ball for four. The Aussies get away with a single off the free hit.
PAK 106/1 in 14 overs: Hazlewood sprays one wide of the left-handed Fakhar. Into the gap she goes! Hazlewood bowls a fuller one onto the pads and Fakhar clears mid-wicket for four. Bludgeoned!100 up for Pakistan with a mammoth six from Rizwan. Rizwan gets his fifty too off the very next delivery, his 3rd in the tournament, 10th this year in addition to a 100. He is in the form of his life!
PAK 92/1 in 13 overs: Fakhar digs out one of those classic Starc yorkers. The Australia pacer has struck Rizwan on the grille now. Ouch! Mandatory concussion tests underway. There is a bit of swelling visible on his right cheek. An LBW appeal from Starc off the last delivery. They aren't going for a review though.
PAK 89/1 in 12 overs: Rizwan unleashes the slog sweep and Zampa could only watch it vanish into the stands. With that,
. Another four down third man, this time in byes.PAK 75/1 in 11 overs: There is an appeal for caught behind down legside. However, Finch decides not to go upstairs. Rizwan calls for two with a nudge towards deep mid-wicket off the last ball and gets it quite comfortably in the end.
PAK 71/1 in 10 overs: Zampa's short-of-a-length delivery has Babar searching for answers. The very next ball, however, is a wide. Rizwan charges down after hesitating for a bit but isn't able to connect. Just a single. WICKET! The biggest fish is in the net. Babar holes out to Warner at wide long-on. Fakhar joins Rizwan as we head into a drinks break.
PAK 68/0 in 9 overs: With five offside fielders, Maxwell is coming round the wicket. Might be looking to push it across. Concedes a run a ball.
PAK 62/0 in 8 overs: A short-arm jab towards legside brings up four more. Regal batting from Babar. With that shot, he has now become the quickest to 2500 T20I runs in 62 innings. Bests Virat Kohli's feat in 68. Marsh bangs one short over Babar's head. It has been called a wide.
PAK 51/0 in 7 overs: A shot by Rizwan down to long-on for a single brings up Pakistan's fifty. Zampa completes an otherwise tight and quick over.
PAK 47/0 in 6 overs: Babar picks up three runs as he drills one through extra cover. Warner gives it a chase from mid-off and intercepts just before it could breach the fence. Maxwell ends up parrying one to the ropes at deep backward square leg. Finch has to think on his feet here. Rizwan dropped again! Zampa, at fine leg, almost pulled it off. Would have been a blinder. This is Pakistan's best PowerPlay score in the T20 World Cup 2021.
PAK 38/0 in 5 overs: Rizwan shakes off the nerves with a SIX! What a way to welcome Hazlewood back into the attack. He picks the length early and swivel-pulls through the legside. Rizwan digs out a yorker to steal a quick single. Edged and safe. The short third man saves a few runs.
PAK 29/0 in 4 overs: Cummins starts off with a wide. His PowerPlay woes in the tournament continue as Babar picks out backward square again. Four runs. Change of field as Finch places Zampa at deep backward square leg to check the run flow.
PAK 21/0 in 3 overs: A bit of spin into the mix as Maxwell runs in to bowl his first. Invites a soft-edge towards cover. Warner DROPS Rizwan! Oh, that must hurt. A miscue, which hangs in the air for a long, long time and Warner, who manages to get there from mid-off has let it burst through his fingers. Worse, it goes for four. Babar gets another boundary with a sweep towards backward square.
PAK 11/0 in 2 overs: Hazlewood to share the new ball. Wow! Babar has absolutely creamed a late outswinger through cover. Rizwan, otherwise composed, is frantically trying to get off strike after a couple of mistimed swipes.
PAK 6/0 in 1 over: There's no cover. However, a fielder has been stationed at square leg. A bit of swing on the first delivery from Starc and an inside-edge off Rizwan's blade swishes past the stumps. Right on the money! Too straight, 147kph, and Babar has used the pace to flick it down leg and register the first boundary for Pakistan. The last ball is an inswinger again. Rizwan has no reply to that and gets beaten fair and square.
There's a loud cheer as Pakistan openers Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam make their way to the crease. Mitchell Starc has the new ball in hand.
- 7:24 PM IST: Time for the national anthem, ladies and gentlemen! The teams follow the umpires out to the middle. Australia is up first.
PAK vs AUS PLAYING XI
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi
Australia: David Warner, Aaron Finch (c), Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
WHAT THEY SAID
Babar Azam, Pakistan skipper: We will look to put runs on the board and then defend it. It is an honour to lead this bunch of players. The UAE is our backyard; we know these conditions well. No changes for us .
Aaron Finch, Australia captain: We will bowl. The wicket will not change a lot over the course of the game. The guys are relaxed. This pitch has played true right through the IPL and the World Cup. Same team.
PAK vs AUS TOSS
Australia wins toss and chooses to field
PAK vs AUS PITCH REPORT
"It is a little dry. Whichever team wins toss, will look to chase. The spinners will have purchase. In the second innings dew will become factor," reckons VVS Laxman .
PAK vs AUS LIVE UPDATES
- 6:08 PM IST: Team Australia begins its warm-up.
- 5:44 PM IST: "The strip is the same as the one that was used for IND v PAK but Pakistan's dressing room has changed for the semifinal," texts Amol.
- 5:26 PM IST: Our correspondent tweets -
PAK vs AUS PREVIEW
Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer, two of Australia's strongest opening batsmen in Test cricket, will meet each other in different colours in the T20 World Cup semifinal in Dubai on Thursday.
Hayden, in his maiden assignment as the coaching staff in the Pakistan cricket team, will be hoping for a win against the Aussies, coached by Langer.
Being the only unbeaten side in the tournament, Hayden will be expecting his boys to maintain the form.
Besides, the semifinal could well be touted as a curtain-raiser to Australia’s first tour of Pakistan in 2022 after 24 years.
Going by the line-ups, it has the making of a humdinger. Aaron Finch and David Warner are the closest competitors to Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in the race for the best opening combination of the tournament.
There is little to choose between Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali - all of them have left their footprints in the T20 World Cup.
The battle of spinners could end up being the decisive factor. Adam Zampa has been a revelation for Australia, being the joint-highest wicket-taker in the Super 12 stage with 11 scalps. On the contrary, despite their ability to stifle batters, neither Shadab Khan nor Imad Wasim has been among wickets consistently.
If Zampa spins his web to keep the Pakistan middle-order - comprising Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali and Mohammad Hafeez - quiet, Australia will have a chance to shine at the biggest stage of the shortest format.
- Amol Karhadkar
PAK vs AUS PREDICTED XI
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi
Australia: David Warner, Aaron Finch (c), Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
PAK vs AUS DREAM11 PREDICTION
Wicketkeeper – Mohammad Rizwan (vc)
Batters – David Warner, Babar Azam (c) , Steve Smith, Shoaib Malik
All-rounders – Glenn Maxwell, Shadab Khan
Bowlers – Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf
Team Composition: PAK 6:5 AUS Credits left: 0.0
PAK vs AUS HEAD-TO-HEAD STATS
Span: 2007-2021
Matches: 23
Won: Pakistan - 13, Australia - 9, NR - 1
In T20 WC: Won: Pakistan - 3, Australia - 3
HS (PAK) vs AUS: 201
LS (PAK) vs AUS 74
HS (AUS) vs PAK: 196
LS (AUS) vs PAK: 89
PAK vs AUS STARS
PAK vs AUS WIN PREDICTION
Pakistan (51%)
PAK vs AUS SQUADS
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Nawaz, Haider Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Sarfaraz Ahmed
David Warner, Aaron Finch (c), Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steven Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood, Kane Richardson, Ashton Agar, Mitchell Swepson, Josh Inglis
WHERE TO WATCH T20 WORLD CUP 2021 SEMIFINAL 2 PAK vs AUS LIVE?
The Pakistan vs Australia match will be aired LIVE on Star Sports 1 , Star Sports 1 HD , Star Sports 1 Hindi , Star Sports 1 Hindi HD , Star Sports 1 Tamil , Star Sports 1 Telugu and Star Sports 1 Kannada . The match will also be live streamed on Hotstar .
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