Matthew Wade and Marcus Stoinis remained unbeaten on a six to guide Australia to the final of the Twenty20 World Cup.Five-wicket win over Pakistan on Thursday. Chasing 177 for victory, Australia were in trouble at 96-5 when Stoinis (40) and Wade, who hit a winning six for 41, scored 81 to end the match with one over remaining in Dubai. Add runs. Left-arm Wade, who was dismissed for 21 by Hasan Ali, smashed three consecutive sixes off Shaheen Shah Afridi in the 19th over to open the title clash against New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday.
Australia captain Aaron Finch said, “It was a great game of cricket. The way Matthew Wade held his nerves, the partnership with Marcus Stoinis was important.”
David Warner made 49 before being caught behind by leg-spinner Shadab Khan’s four-wicket haul. Australia suffered an early blow when Shaheen dismissed skipper Aaron Finch lbw as the Pakistan-dominated crowd flared up.
In-form Warner continued the attack from one end backed by Mitchell Marsh.
But Shadab dismissed Marsh for 28 in the seventh over.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam said, “The way we started in the first half, we got the target we were aiming for.”
“But we gave him too much chance at the end of the chase. Had we taken that catch, it probably would have made a difference.”
The leg-spinner went on to claim the big wickets of Steve Smith in each of his four overs to claim five, Warner and Glenn Maxwell for seven as Australia lost their half for 96. Warner was gone when he was caught behind after making three hits. His 30-ball knock came with fours and three sixes but later replays showed that the batsman had no contact with the bat.
Stoinis and Wade led the team to their second T20 World Cup semi-final and dreamed of their first title.
Wade admitted, “When I got there with Marcus, he really believed we’d get him, even though I was a little unsure.”
“He found the boundary early on, and I was happy to chip away at the end.”
hit on helmet
Mohammad Rizwan, who scored 67, and Fakhar Zaman, who scored an unbeaten 55 off 32 balls, put on 72 for the second wicket to help Pakistan bat 176-4.
Rizwan’s 71-run opening stand with skipper Babar Azam, who scored 39 runs, destabilized the Australian bowling in the first six overs of the powerplay.
Leg-spinner Adam Zampa broke the opening stand after sending back Babar, who scored 303 runs to lead the tournament’s batting charts, caught at long-on with five fours in his 34-ball knock.
Rizwan continued the attack and hit Zampa for a six to become the first player to score 1,000 runs in T20 Internationals in a calendar year.
He survived a hit on the helmet grill by a sharp bouncer from Pat Cummins, as the physio came to test a tightrope with the batsman smiling.
A six and a single off pacer Josh Hazlewood brought up his fifty in 41 balls with Zaman at the other end before it too exploded.
Rizwan eventually fell to Mitchell Starc while trying to force the pace and was caught at mid-off, ending an aggressive partnership that came off 46 balls.
publicized
Zaman ended the innings with two sixes in the final over by Starc who took two wickets.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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