STATS HIGHLIGHTS
Follow UsThe Dubai International Stadium witnessed power-hitting of the highest calibre as Matthew Wade, and Marcus Stoinis forged an unbeaten 81-run stand for the sixth wicket to power Australia to a five-wicket win against Pakistan in the second semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.
After being asked to bat first, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan laid a solid foundation with a 71-run stand for the opening wicket before the skipper was undone by Adam Zampa for 39. Despite his wicket, the batting unit of the side kept the scoreboard ticking in the middle overs, with Rizwan (67) and Fakhar Zaman (55*) notching up half-centuries to help the side to a mammoth total of 176/4 in the first innings.
In reply, Australia got off to a horrendous start as they lost Aaron Finch in the first over. Despite a valiant 49 off 30 deliveries by David Warner, the Aussies were reeling at 96/5 in the 13th over. However, Wade and Stoinis stitched a match-defining partnership and smashed 62 runs off the last five overs to seal Australia’s place in the summit clash of the competition. While the wicket-keeper scored a quickfire 41* studded with two boundaries and four sixes, Stoinis held one end together and scored 40* off 31 balls to help the Aussies get over the line. Here are a few of the notable stats from the game.
Pakistan off to a flyer
In this high-voltage clash, Pakistan got off to an ideal start as the opening combination of Rizwan, and Babar smashed 47 runs in the powerplay. Making optimum use of the field restrictions, the duo displayed an array of strokes all around the ground to record 47 runs, their highest score in the first six overs in this edition of the tournament for them. Their previous best of 43/0 was against India at the same venue in their opening match of the Super 12s.
Rizwan the first to 1k runs in a year
A scintillating 67 of 52 deliveries with three boundaries and four massive hits over the fence propelled Pakistan to 176/4 in their quota of 20 overs. The right-handed batter has been in sublime form all through the year and became the first player in a calendar year to amass 1000 runs in this form of the game. While the 29-year old scored 1033 runs, his opening partner, Babar, is second on this list with 826 runs in 2021.
Babar quickest to 2500 runs
The leading run-scorer in this edition of the tournament, Babar Azam, has enthralled the fans with his classy batting all through the competition. En route to his knock of 39 off 34 deliveries studded with five boundaries, the 27-year old became the quickest player to score 2500 runs in the shortest format of the game. The skipper of the Pakistan outfit achieved this feat in 62 innings, surpassing Virat Kohli, who got there in 68 innings.
Zampa weaves his magic
One of the mainstays in the bowling unit of the Australian side, Adam Zampa, has wreaked havoc in the middle overs in this world event. The leg spinner picked up the prized wicket of Babar in the 10th over to dent the batting unit of Pakistan and take his overall tally to 12 wickets in the tournament, which is the most by an Australian spinner in a single edition of the World Cup. In the year 2010, Steve Smith, with his leg-spin, scalped 11 wickets, which is the second-best.
Starc and his scintillating performance in ICC events
Over the years, Mitchell Starc has been the standout bowler for the Aussies in world events. In his four-over spell, the left-arm pacer picked up two wickets for 38 runs to become the leading wicket-taker for Australia in the T20 World Cup. The 31-year old surpassed all-rounder Shane Watson's tally of 22 wickets in this coveted trophy.
Finch endures a day to forget
In pursuit of 177 runs, the Aussies endured a horrific start as Finch was dismissed for a golden duck through a brilliant delivery from Shaheen Afridi. Prior to this match, Finch was dismissed only once in 14 innings to a left-arm pacer in T20Is since 2019. Despite having a sensational record against Left-arm pacers, he was undone by a beauty. This is the first time in the T20 World Cup that an Australian opening batter was dismissed for a golden duck.
A match winning stand
After tottering at 96/5 in the 13th over, Stoinis and Wade stitched an unbeaten 81-run partnership for the sixth wicket to power Australia into the summit clash of the World Cup. The duo consolidated the innings by accumulating the ones and the twos before launching an attack in the back end of the innings. The unbeaten 81-run stand is the highest partnership for sixth or lower wicket in a T20 WC chase. Australia couldn’t have expected a better time to achieve this record.
Stoinis and Wade go berserk
With 62 runs needed off the last five overs, not many people gave the Aussies a chance to get over the line against a strong bowling unit. However, Stoinis and Wade had other ideas as the duo produced a masterclass on power-hitting and smashed 62 runs with an over to spare to guide Australia into the finals of the T20 World Cup 2021. Struggling for momentum, Wade at the start of the 18th over was striking at 88.9. In the span of next eight balls, Wade struck 33 runs. The 62 runs scored in the last five overs is the second-highest runs scored in overs 16-20 of a successful run chase in the T20 World Cup. 75/2 by the Aussies against the same opposition at Gros Islet in 2010 is on the top.
Shadab's four-wicket haul in vain
Shadab Khan spun a web around the Aussie batters in the middle overs and picked up four wickets for 26 runs to derail their charge momentarily in their pursuit of the target. His spell is also the best in a T20 WC Semi-final encounter and the second best in both Semi-final/finals stage. However, his heroics were shadowed by a match-defining partnership between Wade and Stoinis. The spell of 4/26 is the best spell for a Pakistan player in a losing cause in the T20 World Cup. Mohammad Amir's 3/23 against the same opposition in Gros Islet in 2010 is the second-best figures by a Pakistan player in this iconic event.
