Before Pakistan’s semi-final against Australia in 2021 t20 world cup Hasan Ali played 46 T20 matches at the Dubai International Stadium on Thursday, taking 11 catches. In his 47th match, a forgettable win with the ball – he went for 0/44 in his four overs – Ali had a chance to take 12 catches in T20Is. Not a number that would captivate any statistician, but it was a catch a lot was riding on. Normally a safe fielder, Ali covered good ground to stop a slog from Matthew Wade, which the Aussie had managed to attach to the toe of the bat. Ali, however, overruns and lets the ball slip. Although there was no ‘You drop the World Cup, met’ comment from Wade, it was certainly the moment Ali dropped the World Cup. Pakistan, the unbeaten side in the tournament and the best team by a country mile, had given the Aussies a second chance in the semi-finals and, despite poor form, as the Aussies took the lead in the tournament, they switched to their tournament mode and made it a T. 20 jumped at the chance to make the World Cup final – rather upset – to make Pakistan for the first time in 11 years.
Ali has 61 wickets in international cricket this year, second only to Shaheen Shah Afridi among bowlers with most international wickets in 2021. Afridi’s first spell was 2-0-8-1 in which he made a peach of a delivery to get rid of it. Chasing 177, Australia captain Aaron Finch returned his second spell in the 15th over and conceded just 6 runs to make the equation difficult for Australia. They needed 62 runs in five overs. The 21-year-old Afridi was in top form during the tournament but it was his last over. Afridi scored 17 runs in his final over after an early dodge to India. Afridi could have stumbled against quality big-hitters, and he did.
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On Thursday, with 22 runs required in 2 overs, Babar Azam turned to Afridi for the 19th. He ran Marcus Stoinis for pace and gave Pakistan a chance to seal the game on the third ball when he hit Ali on the toe end to Wade. What happened after the drop was the end of a young fast bowler – 6, 6, and 6. Wade, the wicketkeeper-batsman who is an opener by trade, played a brilliant knock last night with one of his knocks from Daryl Mitchell. On Air Ian Bishop noted left-handed strikes on over 200 against deliveries in excess of 140 kmph. After the mishandled slog, Afridi went for his deadliest weapon – the yorker – but Wade revamped one and scooped to perfection for maximum fine leg. Afridi opts for an off-cutter ahead and it sits well for Wade to hit it over midwicket. With 6 needed for 7, it was Australia’s game to seal. Wade spins, Afridi hits the base of the leg stump and Wade once again finds the sweet part of the bat with a scoop.
Australia, undeterred by all four semi-finalists, made it to their second T20 World Cup, setting up a summit clash with their trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand, and ensured that a new champion would be crowned on 14 November. For Pakistan, it was a chance they would regret for years to come. Pakistan team’s senior statesman Mohammad Hafeez told Bishop before the start of the match that Pakistan’s teams in the past – 5 knockout performances in 6 editions – were very good, but under Azam’s leadership this team was playing to its potential. Best. And rightly so, Pakistan looked unbeatable and the favorite to take him home.
As for Australia, coming into the tournament, many doubted whether they would be knocked out of the Super 12s. After all, they had lost 5 T20I series in a row. Yes David Warner, Aaron Finch and Steve Smith were unavailable for some parts but Australia had won only 2 of their last 10 T20I matches before the World Cup. But on the big stage, the Aussies know how to switch on the beat mode. His clinical bowling performance against South Africa saw him open his account in his first match and he doubled the tally with the batting dominance over Sri Lanka. Against England, they were blown away, reminded that this is not the best of Australian teams we may have been used to seeing in the past. He made a big comeback against Bangladesh and then against West Indies for the semi-final against Pakistan. Warner was crucial at the top and Mitchell Marsh at number three was finally playing to his potential. As finishers, Stoinis and Wade – rather interestingly, both have been prolific openers for their respective BBL franchises – were spending their time.
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Wade batted only twice before the semi-final, scoring 15* (vs South Africa) and 18 (vs England), while Stoinis had 24* (vs South Africa), 16* (vs Sri Lanka) and 0 (vs England). ), but both stood up when it mattered most. Wade scored 41* for 17 and Stoinis scored 40* for 31. Wade was a make-shift finisher, the better wicket-keeper batsman, overtaking make-shift opener Mohammad Rizwan, who scored 67 off 52 balls, while Stoinis overtook Trump. Finisher Fakhar Zaman (55 off 32).
Finally as Hasan Ali stood motionless at the Dubai International Stadium, perhaps replaying the missed catch in his mind and wondering what could have happened, 33-year-old Wade was celebrating happily, under the sun. Enjoying the ‘remember the name’ moment.
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