Shahid Afridi (R) celebrates with Zulfiqar Babar after the wicket of Australia batsman David Warner during the ICC World Twenty20 tournament cricket match between Australia and Pakistan at The Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on March 23, 2014. PHOTO: AFP
DHAKA: For a brief moment it had seemed that the memories of the 2010 WorldT20 semi-final defeat against Australia had returned to haunt Pakistan in Mirpur, and they had a reason too as the Aussies were chasing exactly the same score they had successfully hunted down due to a once-in-a-lifetime knock by Mr Cricket, Michael Hussey.
Glenn Maxwell’s 74 off a mere 33 balls had almost buried Pakistan inside the first 10 overs with the score reading 117 for 2 in pursuit of 192 – the same target as St Lucia in 2010.
But after the early carnage that included a 30-run Bilawal Bhatti over, the 2009 champions fought back tenaciously. The trio of Zulfiqar Babar, Shahid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal succeeded in choking the team from down under once Maxwell was dismissed, courtesy a catch by Ahmed Shehzad off Afridi.
Aaron Finch the other destructive Aussie force on the day kept scoring runs as the rest of the batsmen found the going tough; Finch (65) was dismissed by Ajmal in the 18th over of the innings, the game changing over of the match where the world class Ajmal conceded a mere single run!
Australia needed 30 off the last two overs and Umar Gul and Bhatti redeemed themselves after going for big runs in their earlier overs, both claimed two wickets, each to ensure a win for Pakistan which they had deserved following Umar Akmal’s exploits in the first half of the match.
Akmal in the company of his brother Kamran added 96-runs for the third wicket after Shehzad and Hafeez perished cheaply.
Akmal piled on the misery on the Aussie bowlers scoring 94 off 54 balls while contributions from Kamran (31) and Shahid Afridi (20)* took Pakistan to a big total which had seemed quite inadequate when Maxwell was carting it all around and outside the park.
Luckily though the depth in Hafeez’s bowling line-up saved the day for the men in green, who are still in contention for a semi-final spot from their group of death.
20th over: Australia 175-9
RUN OUT! Afridi drops a chance in the covers, but recovers quickly to throw to the right end.
OUT! Haddin goes on the fourth ball of the over.
Pakistan win the match by 16 runs!
A good cme bck frm team Pakistan. Great bowling by Lala n Zulfii to put Pak back in the driving seat . Love u team Pak
— Wahab Riaz (@WahabViki) March 23, 2014
OUT!!! Keep the pressure up boys. Can't relax just yet. #T20WC2014 #PakvAus
— jehan_ara (@jehan_ara) March 23, 2014
Whaaaaaat a game. #PakvAus
— Mango Man (@shadeed_mango) March 23, 2014
https://twitter.com/HamnaQureshi/status/447718651027030016
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19th over: Australia 168-7
Penultimate over; Gul to bowl.
BOWLED! Gul sends Coulter-Nile's stumps for a walk!
AND ANOTHER OUT WOHOOO
— zoya (@zoyashaikhx) March 23, 2014
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18th over: Australia 162-6
Ajmal to Haddin and Finch.
OUT! AJMAL HAS GOT FINCH!
Saeed Ajmal: The Finch Hitter
— Wajahat S. Khan (@WajSKhan) March 23, 2014
Only one run off the over.
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17th over: Australia 161-5
OUT! Great catch in the deep by Ajmal! It was a flat hit to deep extra-cover. Hodge goes. Gul strikes!
FOUR! Finch strikes a boundary.
Catches win matches what a catch under pressure AJMAL is the man .
— Wasim Akram (@wasimakramlive) March 23, 2014
Australia need 31 off 18.
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16th over: Australia 153-4
Afridi comes in to bowl his fourth over.
OUT! Afridi sends Bailey back.
The Aussie skipper back in the hut. In walks the seasoned Hodge.
Australia gets its 150 with a boundary by Finch.
Afridi finishes his quota. Bowls well with 2-30. His first over went for a few.
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15th over: Australia 146-3
Ajmal bowls his third over to Finch and Bailey.
FOUR! Finch manages a boundary on the last ball!
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14th over: Australia 138-3
Australia has scored only 30 in the last 5 and lost Maxwell. A lot of damage was done before.
Need 54 runs off 36 balls.
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13th over: Australia 132-3
FOUR! Finch hits a boundary.
[infogram url="" height="387"]
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12th over: Australia 126-3
Afridi to Maxwell and Finch.
OUT! Afridi strikes! Maxwell holes out to deep midwicket!
Still a chance now that Maxwell's gone
— Dr. Arif Alvi (@ArifAlvi) March 23, 2014
A comparison of Maxwell and Afridi's bowling stats:
[infogram url="" height="362"]
Bailey in. Three off the over and a crucial wicket.
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11th over: Australia 122-2
Umar Gul comes back into the attack. Starts with a dot ball.
DROPPED! Ajmal drops an easy catch at deep cover! It was Maxwell.
Maxwell is batting on 72 off 29 balls!
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10th over: Australia 117-2
Surely Bhatti will not be given another over after that mauling? No, it's Ajmal.
SIX! Maxwell.
FOUR! No respect for Ajmal by Maxwell!
Ajmal finally fights it.
http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac89/etwebdesk/etwebdesk200/World%20T20%20stats/Australiasixes_zpsb5c69f2c.jpg
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Ninth over: Australia 105-2
Zulfiqar Babar to Finch and Maxwell.
Hafeez goes back to the wicket taker.
Great over by Babar. But has the damage already been done?
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Eighth over: Australia 102-2
FOUR! The Aussies turning it on! Bhatti given the treatment this time.
FOUR! Maxwell through point.
SIX! Maxwell muscles that over mid-wicket.
SIX! Maxwell crosses 50 off 18 balls!
No ball.
FOUR!
Ye phir hartay huay nazar arahay hain #PakVsAus #wt20
— Hareem Deeba (@Hareem_Deeba) March 23, 2014
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Seventh over: Australia 72-2
Australia still scoring just at the required rate here.
SIX! Finch hits Afridi over midwicket for SIX!
SIX! Afridi's first over goes for 15.
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Sixth over: Australia 57-2
Saeed Ajmal to Finch and Maxwell.
Maxwell looking ominous here. But here's the magician Ajmal to have a bowl. Decisive battle on.
SIX! 50 comes up for Australia.
FOUR more! Finch taking over. Room to cut and places it behind point.
http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac89/etwebdesk/etwebdesk200/World%20T20%20stats/SaeedAjmalbowling1_zps7504949e.jpg
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Fifth over: Australia 44-2
Umar Gul to Finch and Maxwell.
FOUR! Maxwell hit a boundary!
Finch middling almost everything. But keeps finding the fielder.
http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac89/etwebdesk/etwebdesk200/World%20T20%20stats/UmarGulbowling1_zps228de36c.jpg
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Fourth over: Australia 35-2
Hafeez bowling.
SIX! Maxwell goes again! Over midwicket. 85 metres!
SIX! Maxwell hits another!
Not a bad start for Australia, run rate wise.
— Ahmer Naqvi (@karachikhatmal) March 23, 2014
Pakistan hs a golden opportunity 2 win by a big margin 2 improve their net run rate.It will play crucial part 4 them 2 qualify in semifinals
— Nadia Jamil (@NJLahori) March 23, 2014
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Third over: Australia 20-2
Babar is back to bowl.
Even with Warner and Watson in the hut, the Aussie line-up boasts a lot of big hitters.
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Second over: Australia 11-2
After a smashing first over, Hafeez comes in to bowl the second over; Maxwell and Finch are at the crease.
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First over: Australia 8-2
Warner hits Babar on the first ball of the over.
OUT! Warner bowled on the second ball! Babar hits back.
ANOTHER OUT! Watson caught behind. Babar gets another!
[infogram url="" height="617"]
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4:18pm
Australia started well but their bowlers are not as experienced as Pakistan's.
[infogram url="" height="528"]
20th over: Pakistan 191-5
Umar Akmal went for glory but could only find the long on fielder; OUT on 94 runs.
Afridi hits a clever shot, past the keeper.
Shoaib Malik, new batsman, hits a FOUR!
Pakistan set the target of 192 runs for Australia to chase.
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19th over: Pakistan 180-4
Umar Akmal inching towards his 100.
Bollinger has replaced Johnson for the match; this is his last over. Very good over for Australia.
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18th over: Pakistan 175-4
FOUR! Umar Akmal hits a boundary over cover, moves into the 80s.
SIX! Afridi swings a full toss over square leg.
Australia's best bowler Starc is back after a long break. He is the best bowler in the tournament.
Afridi. Enough said #PakvsAus
— Syed Ali Abbas Zaidi (@Ali_Abbas_Zaidi) March 23, 2014
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17th over: Pakistan 162-4
Afridi and Akmal face Watson.
Afridi smears Watson over midwicket for a SIX! What a shot! Hits a FOUR over mid-off.
Below is the comparison of the two all-rounders from the respective teams.
[infogram url="" height="362"]
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16th over: Pakistan 148-4
Umar goes over midwicket again for a FOUR!
Coulter-Nile bowls Maqsood OUT! He made only 5 runs.
Afridi comes to the crease.
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15th over: Pakistan 140-3
Umar Akmal hits a FOUR, goes past his highest score in T20i matches. His previous highest score was against South Africa.
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14th over: Pakistan 131-3
Akmal and Sohaib Maqsood face Hogg.
Four byes, nearly bowled Sohaib Maqsood.
When Pakistan score 145 or more, it win 86% of the matches.
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13th over: Pakistan 123-3
Coulter-Nile is in to bowl the over.
Australia misfield, Umar Akmal hits a FOUR! He is on fire.
Coulter-Nile claims Kamran, out on 31 runs off 31 balls.
Kamran Akmal plays a shot during the ICC World Twenty20 tournament Group 2 cricket match between Australia and Pakistan at The Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on March 23, 2014. PHOTO: AFP
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12th over: Pakistan 114-2
Umar Akmal goes over midwicket again, hits SIX! Hits a FOUR then.
Short ball gets the treatment, Umar Akmal hits another SIX to bring up his 50 off 28 balls.
Pakistan cross 100.
Last five overs have gone for 60 runs.
sixxxxxx and 50...Umar Akmal on fire
— Shahzeb Khanzada (@shazbkhanzdaGEO) March 23, 2014
https://twitter.com/_amarb/status/447684819812896768
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11th over: Pakistan 96-2
Akmal brothers putting up a good partnership; it is 64 runs off 6 overs.
Kamran Akmal smashes it over cover for yet another boundary.
Australia started well but their bowlers are not as experienced as Pakistan's.
[infogram url="" height="528"]
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Tenth over: Pakistan 84-2
The Akmal brothers face the dangerous Watson.
Bollinger drops Kamran Akmal's catch.
Umar Akmal hits a SIX on free-hit.
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Ninth over: Pakistan 69-2
Kamran Akmal smashes a boundary to Hogg.
Australia's misfield gets Pakistan another boundary on the third ball.
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Eighth over: Pakistan 56-2
Coulter-Nile to continue with his second now.
FOUR! Umer Akmal is looking good. Moves on to 17 with that boundary. Hits another.
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Seventh over: Pakistan 43-2
Watson continues. This is his second over. Keeping it tight.
Would it kill our opening batsmen to put Atleast a decent score of 60 on that board?Or is that too much to ask for? #wt20 #PakvsAus #AusvPak
— Maria Memon (@Maria_Memon) March 23, 2014
FOUR! Smash! Umer Akmal steps out and hits Watson over cover.
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Sixth over: Pakistan 36-2
Another bowling change. Coulter-Nile to bowl his medium-pacers.
FOUR! Umer flat-bats that past the bowler's right.
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Fifth over: Pakistan 29-2
Change of bowling Watson comes on. He's the leading wicket-taker for Australia in T20Is after Johnson (who's not playing).
OUT! And he bowls Hafeez on the second ball of the over.
Pakistan need Kamram Akmal to fire in the top. If he gets going then it will be easy for Hadeez and Malik to take away from there #wt20
— Asad (@Asad_tweetz) March 23, 2014
The Akmal brothers are centre stage for Pakistan now. What can they do?
Mohammad Hafeez gets clean bowled during the ICC World Twenty20 tournament cricket match between Australia and Pakistan at The Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on March 23, 2014. PHOTO: AFP
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Fourth over: Pakistan 25-1
Appeal for caught behind on the third ball. Umpire says 'not out.'
FOUR. Hafeez swats that through midwicket.
FOUR and AGAIN!. The Pakistan skipper is taking Bollinger on here!
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Third over: Pakistan 14-1
Akmal carves the second ball of the over to the cover fielder... but he misfields. That's Pakistan's second boundary - both hit by Akmal
Straight boundaries are pretty big. 80 metres to clear long-on, straight over the bowler.
Some pace here from Starc.
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Second over: Pakistan 10-1
Doug Bollinger to open the bowling from the other end. Both left arm quicks for the Aussies.
Keeping a tight line, he is.
Short one - Shehzad tries to pull it, but hits it straight up in the air - he is OUT. Caught by the bowler, Bollinger.
Another pull - this time Hafeez connects well enough for a double off his first ball.
Good tight over from Bollinger
[infogram url="" height="583"]
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First over: Pakistan 6-0
Ahmed Shehzad taking guard, he will take strike first. Kamran Akmal is at the other end.
Mitchel Starc to bowl the first over.
Shehzad hits the first boundary on the first ball.
Australia appeal against Akmal on the third ball - umpires go upstairs... It is not out!
Akmal off the mark on the fifth ball of the over
Ahmed Shehzad plays a shot during the ICC World Twenty20 tournament Group 2 cricket match between Australia and Pakistan at The Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on March 23, 2014. PHOTO: AFP
2:23pm
Australia included 43-year-old spinner Brad Hogg for their first match, making him the oldest player to take part in the World Twenty20 competitions since the inaugural event in 2007.
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2:15pm
Junaid Khan dropped? I think that is a mistake. Best pace bowler on the team. #pakvaus
— Hassy (@hassy110) March 23, 2014
https://twitter.com/Wazza_01/status/447661377352908800
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2:00pm
Australia has won the toss and elected to field first.
The data does not include statistics from the ongoing tournament.
Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Bilawal Bhatti, Junaid Khan, Kamran Akmal (wicket keeper), Mohammad Talha, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi, Sharjeel Khan, Shoaib Malik, Sohaib Maqsood, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Akmal†, Umar Gul, Zulfiqar Babar
Australia: GJ Bailey (captain), DE Bollinger, DT Christian, NM Coulter-Nile, JP Faulkner, AJ Finch, BJ Haddin (wicket keeper), BJ Hodge, GB Hogg, GJ Maxwell, JM Muirhead, MA Starc, DA Warner, SR Watson, CL White
COMMENTS (31)
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@ria ka pia: India crushed windies instead!
Congtatulations Pakistan hope finals will be match the worth watching if both the teams reached there.
Most Indians backed Pakistan against Australia and make it to the finals. In finals, Pakistan would meet India and with history repeating itself, India will lift the cup. This prediction might come true.
Thank you Pak Cricketers
Heartiest congratulations to the entire Pakistani nation on getting a befitting gift on 23rd March, which we celebrate as Pakistan Day, from our cricket teams outstanding positive and and very very aggressive game display, which is the basic requirement of T20 cricket.
Pakistani nation, stay blessed.
@Ali Khudadad: crush india?? who ?? pakistan?? not possible in world cup friend....even though aaj main australia ko cheer kar rahi thi i must admit pakistan played handsomely
@ih: Apologies dear Interlocutor. My message is directed to fifo! . @fifo: This clearly shows that we need to have runs on the board so that the bowlers can do something. Sorry ria, sorry Naresh that we brought nirasha to you. WELL DONE GREEN SHIRTS, thats the way to do it! . Maybe speaking 400% better English you were unable to understand the meaning. @ria: go aussies…..crush them . [b]No way Jose![/b] . It is a statement to counter “ria” who encouraged the Aussies to “Crush them” meaning Crush Pakistan. . Now get yourself a LIFE! . Cheers Recommend
@ria: We lost to india to save our Kashmiri brothers from further abuse in indian cities. ET kindly let go of my comment you;d still be in good books of indians your pride.
wel don boys
Yes it is so great that we win but plz don't forget the horrible wicket keeping of Akaml the way he dropped Finch
post my coment et
congo pakteam .i wish we will meet in final
Go west Indies crush India..
@ria: You gone to sleep....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....
disappointed.... anyways.... well played pakistan....congratulations
Amazing performance ! Even when all hope seemed to be lost Pakistan redeemed itself. Love you guys over on the Cricket Team and hope you continue to play like this... Pakistan Zindabad.
@ Ria......dont worry Ria...Although Aussies haven't listened to you but Team Pakistan surely have.....Now Pakistan would love to crush India if at all India qualifies for the final.
@ria: Ria... what were you saying... Go West Indies.. crush India... hehe...
Well done Pakistan ! Against the Aussies I always support Pakistan.
Good close match, If Pakistan had played close to like this the Pakistan would have lost previous match to India.Pakistan did show the spirit to fight back after Australian were cruising away to chase big Pakistan target but when Indian were target small Target and lost couple of wickets initially even then captaincy failed to create pressure on India, Either they wanted keep the label they can't win against Indian in any bigger tournament or they were not sincere when we see today's performance just after TWO day.
oh what a game! congratulations to Pak team.It took lot of guts to open with spin, and give the final over to Bhatti after he conceded 30 runs in first over. I am still trying to catch my breath. good luck, good hunting .
Nice played Congrats all Pakistani.
Title should be "Pakistan annihilates Australia"
This clearly shows that we need to have runs on the board so that the bowlers can do something. Sorry ria, sorry Naresh that we brought nirasha to you. WELL DONE GREEN SHIRTS, thats the way to do it!
@ria: go aussies…..crush them . No way Jose! . Cheers
I hope after losing that match our youth will start to do some good hard sports like Hockey and football, Cricket is lazy and destroying our sports culture.
what a start by Zulfiqar Babar , Brilliant !!!!!!
go aussies.....crush them