Australia pull off thrilling win over Pakistan to reach final
Marcus Stoinis and Matthew Wade stitched together an unbeaten fifty-run partnership to guide Australia to a superb five-wicket win and a place in the final where they will take on New Zealand on Sunday.
Both Stoinis and Wade played some well-calculated shots and took the game deep to launch an assault late in the run-chase against Pakistan pacers. Wade finished the game with three back-to-back sixes off Shaheen Shah Afridi to finish the game with an over to spare and five wickets in hand.
Chasing a stiff target of 177 runs, skipper Aaron Finch departed for a duck in the first over against pacer Shaheen while spinner Shadab Khan also got into the action as he struck with four crucial wickets to rock Australia in their pursuit of 177 runs for a win. However, Australia constructed back their innings beautifully, pacing and and constructing their innings around the required run-rate.
After being sent to bat in the second semifinal by Australia, Pakistan have put 176 runs on the board for the loss of four wickets in 20 overs. Mohammad Rizwan top-scored for Pakistan with his impressive 67 runs. He added 71 runs with skipper Babar Azam (39) the first wicket and 72 runs for the second wicket with Fakhar Zaman (55*). Babar and Rizwan have been in top form right from their first match of the tournament where Pakistan thrashed arch-rivals India by 10 wickets. Babar has also surpassed England’s Jos Buttler to become the leading run-scorer in the ongoing tournament.
Meanwhile, Rizwan became the first batter to score 1000 runs in T20Is in a calendar year. After Rizwan was sent back to the pavilion in the 18th over, Zaman also scored fifty and gave the finishing touch in Pakistan’s innings. For Australia Mitchell Starc was the best bowler with his two wickets. Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa picked one wicket each.
Chief scores
Pakistan: 176/ in 20 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 67, Fakhar Zaman 55*, Babar Azam 39, Mitchell Starc 2/38, Adam Zampa 1/22, Pat Cummins 1/30)
Australia: 177/5 in 19 overs (David Warner 49, Matthew Wade 41*, Marcus Stoinis 40*, Shadab Khan 4/26) (Agencies)