Australia produced a sensational run chase to stun Pakistan and set up an all-antipodean final at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021.
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Australian batsman Matthew Wade smashed three consecutive sixes in the 19th over of the second innings of the T20 World Cup 2021 semi-final against Pakistan, to help his team sail into the final. Wade smashed those sixes against none other than pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was considered the Asian team’s best bowler in the prestigious tournament. The batsman’s heroics helped Australia reach the final of the event, where they will take on arch-rivals New Zealand. Wade’s fine knock helped the Aussies chase down a target of 177 runs in 20 overs, emerging victorious by a margin of five wickets.
“Absolutely (preempted the scoops). I was talking to Stoinis at the other end and tried to work out what they’re doing. I got a little more pace on than expected, I probably could have used it a little bit earlier, but yeah.. glad to get a couple at the end. There wasn’t a lot of chat before I went in as we lost quick wickets. But when I got out there, Me and Marcus had batted together in the first game and got some momentum today as well. I was a bit unsure but Marcus showed me the way out,” said Wade after being named as the Player of the Match.
“There was one short side and I was confident that if I had to target that then I could pull it off, but it got down to two-a-ball and you had to hit everything in your arc. I got a boundary away early on and then stalled for 5-6 balls, but Marcus got the boundary away and got us to a total where I was confident in the last two overs. It hasn’t sunk in but probably when I sit down tonight it might sink in. I was out of the two team for 2-3 years, just came back 20 games ago and happy to have repaid the faith,” he added.
Marcus Stoinis remained unbeaten at the other end, accumulating 40 runs from 31 deliveries in an innings comprising of two boundaries and sixes apiece. Opener David Warner was another significant performer, smashing 49 runs off 30 balls with the knock including three fours and maximums apiece. Shadab Khan was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan, chipping in with four dismissals.
Opener Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman played a key role in Pakistan reaching 176, smashing fine half-centuries. The former accumulated 67 runs from 52 deliveries in an innings comprising of three boundaries and four sixes. The latter smashed 55 runs off 32 balls with the knock including three fours and four maximums. Skipper Babar Azam provided some valuable support, accumulating 39 runs from 34 deliveries. Mitchell Starc was the pick of the bowlers, accounting for two dismissals. Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa chipped in with a wicket apiece.
Babar stated that he was satisfied as a captain despite the defeat.
“I thought we scored as many runs as we had planned in the first innings. I think we give such teams a chance in the back end, it is going to be costly. The turning point was that dropped catch. Had we taken it, the scenario could have been different. The way we gelled and played the entire tournament, I am satisfied as a captain. Hopefully we’ll learn from this for the next tournament. When you play so well throughout, there were small mistakes that cost us the match in the end. We gve players roles and they executed it really well. The way the crowds supported us, we enjoyed a lot as a team. We always enjoy playing here,” he said.
