Aussies come back from the brink to win by five wickets in gripping match
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00:00Hello and welcome to Golf News Straight Back, the chat show all about cricket.
00:14It's the only trophy that they haven't won, but Australia continue the bid for the T20
00:19World Cup after beating Pakistan in the semi-final tonight in what was an absolute thriller.
00:26Joining me to discuss tonight's game are Mr Cricket UAE Anish Sajjan and Golf News
00:31expert Shyam.
00:32Anish, have you caught your breath back after that incredible game?
00:36What did you make of it?
00:38Thank you Imran.
00:39Hello Shyam.
00:40What a match and I was fortunate to see this game at the Dubai Cricket Stadium.
00:44It was absolutely a featherbed of a wicket and you have to give it to the curator.
00:50He made a wicket which was good for batting, bowling and there was not a drop of dew.
00:55So there was no advantage to any team.
00:57And you have to say that Pakistan set up a fantastic total on the back of a couple of
01:01good innings.
01:02One with Mohammad Rizwan and then when finished by Fakhar Zaman.
01:05They had Australia on the mat, but I'm afraid, as they say, sometimes the memories come to
01:11haunt you and Pakistan couldn't hold their nerve and in the end that cost them the game.
01:15But Pakistan should hold their head high.
01:18They played like a champion team, but sometimes you can't win.
01:23Pakistan started the campaign, as we know, really well with that big win over India.
01:27And then they went from strength to strength after that.
01:30They won all their five Super 12 matches.
01:33And for a while tonight, it looked like that they were going to win six out of six.
01:37But when Hassan Ali dropped that Matthew Wade catch late on, Anish, that was the turning
01:43point of the match, wasn't it?
01:45No Imran.
01:46I know we are talking about that catch, but trust me, at 96-5 and Australia were struggling.
01:52There was a shot hit by Marcus Stoinis at deep mid-wicket.
01:57And for strange reasons, Asif Ali was standing probably 10 metres inside the rope.
02:04Had he been standing right at the boundary, the ball would have come straight into hands
02:07and I'm right in front of his eyelid.
02:09And all the crowd and I saw one of the players running to Hassan Ali and giving a mouthful.
02:13I said, what are you doing?
02:15And trust me, that would have been game, set and match.
02:17We are talking about today, Hassan Ali.
02:18That's what happens.
02:19When you have a bad day with the ball, people are going to actually troll him and I'm afraid
02:23he's going to be on the wrong side.
02:25That Matthew Wade's catch would have probably made the difference.
02:28But by that time, Australia had already sneaked in when Marcus Stoinis was set.
02:32But if I have to ask me one thing, it was that bad mistake and such small things need
02:37to be taken care of.
02:38You are an experienced team.
02:39You can't make such mistakes.
02:40Shalom.
02:41I think the biggest confidence booster that Australia can take is David Warner's return
02:46to form in the tournament.
02:47He's now got two half centuries.
02:50In his last match, he got 89 in the previous game.
02:53Today, he got 49 and he was going really well and then he was given out, fredging one behind.
02:59But the replays showed that he didn't touch it.
03:01Why didn't he appeal for that?
03:03Why didn't he call for a review?
03:05I think there must have been some noise, probably the rubber in the bat or a pad or something
03:14must have made a noise because he didn't even flinch.
03:17He just walked away.
03:20So which means there was some noise and he was convinced.
03:23Otherwise, definitely, it was worth a review.
03:26And given the form he was in, I think even if there was a half chance, there would have
03:32been a review.
03:33But he didn't even consult his partner.
03:35He was so convinced.
03:36He just walked away.
03:37I mean, very strange indeed.
03:38In fact, that was one of the big moments of the match.
03:41It was a very strange moment.
03:43And Shah, I'm just staying with you there.
03:44Australia's bowling, as we know, has been really good this tournament, especially Adam
03:48Zampa.
03:49He's got the second highest amount of wickets in the tournament.
03:53He's been doing really well.
03:54Today, he only took one wicket, but he only conceded 22 runs.
03:58And that really slowed the Pakistani batsmen down when they looked like at one stage they
04:01may post nearly 200 runs.
04:04How vital was he again to the team tonight?
04:07I think throughout the tournament, Zampa has been very good and he's been very vital to
04:13the Australian campaign.
04:15And so also this match, like you said, he may have got only one wicket.
04:20And that wicket was of Barbara Azzam, which is a very, very crucial wicket given Barbara
04:25Azzam's form.
04:26Because Barbara Azzam, in the last five matches, gets scored 450.
04:31So that is a prized wicket.
04:33And like I said in one of the previous chats also, Zampa bowls fastest leg spin.
04:41But he's unafraid to toss one or two up when the situation demands.
04:45And just one of those flighted leg breaks, which really cost Barbara Azzam to mistime
04:52the shot and I think caught him on the boundary.
04:56So Zampa is very, very crucial to the Australian bowling.
05:00The rest of the bowling was up and down, really.
05:04Stark was good early on, later he came in for a stick.
05:07Hazlewood wasn't at his best, but Cummins was.
05:11And actually, if you ask me what made the difference was Pat Cummins' 19th over in the
05:17Pakistan innings made the difference.
05:19Because that made the difference between Pakistan getting another 10 to 15 runs extra.
05:26And that would have taken the match further away from Australia.
05:28Because he gave only just three runs in that match, in that over, 19th over.
05:32Three runs, if you give away three runs only in that over, I think you pretty much win
05:36the match for your team.
05:37And that's what Pat Cummins did.
05:39And that was, again, one of the several big moments in this game, really.
05:44That really was a tremendous performance for him.
05:48Anis, Australia had won all four of the ICC knockout games against Pakistan.
05:54The 87 World Cup semi-final, the 1999 World Cup final, 2010 T20 World Cup semi-final and
06:022015.
06:03They've won their fifth one now.
06:05Is this their best win against them?
06:07And why do Pakistan struggle against them?
06:10I'm glad you asked me this question, Ibrahim.
06:12It happens, you know.
06:13Like, if you have to ask me, is this the best win against them?
06:16I would say the innings played by Hassi in 2010, where they were down and out.
06:21And Hassi Hamid, 67 of 24 balls.
06:23So what happens when you play against teams where you tend to lose matches from winning
06:28position?
06:29It tends to haunt you.
06:30And I wouldn't be surprised.
06:31It must be in the back of Hassan Ali's mind, or Shain Afridi's mind, or Babar Azam's mind.
06:37When you come to such pivotal moments where you know that you have the match, but then
06:40you remember, oh God, we had lost the match.
06:43That's where the nerves count.
06:45This was a young Pakistan team.
06:46You have to give you Baring, Hafeez and Shoaib Malik.
06:48All of them guys were below 30.
06:50So it must have haunted them.
06:52But in the end, you have to give credit to Australia.
06:54They held their nerve.
06:56And Marcus Stoinis, he said that he wants to be the best finisher.
06:59He did it with the support of Matthew Wade.
07:02Anis, how much of a blow is losing for Pakistan after the way they've played today?
07:07They've played, well, they won 5 out of 5, as I've mentioned.
07:10But in the UAE, they've played, I think, 14 T20 games and won all 14.
07:15So it's a big blow.
07:17How will they be feeling?
07:19They won 16 out of 16.
07:21And more important than winning in UAE 16 out of 16, this defeat might really dent them
07:26a lot, you know, because when they came into this tournament, to be very honest, with due
07:30respect to Pakistan, they were not touted as favourites.
07:33But the way they played themselves.
07:35And today also, they were fabulous with the bat.
07:38And when Shahid Afridi bowled that over, everything, the Shadab leg speed, everything went Pakistan's
07:43way.
07:44Baring that probably missed opportunity by Asif Ali as well as Ahsan Ali in the end.
07:49They were spot on.
07:50So, you know, they played so good cricket.
07:52But sometimes in this, you know, cruel game of T20, one good knock can take the game away.
07:58And I'm afraid Pakistan would probably dread this till the next World Cup, because this
08:03was their tournament to be won.
08:04And I'm afraid it will haunt them very badly.
08:07And Anas, I think we need a special word on Pakistan's batsman, Mohammad Rizwan.
08:13He was dropped on zero very early on.
08:16He went on to make 67, a brilliant 67.
08:19But the reason why that was such an impressive knock was apparently last night, he spent
08:23the last night in hospital, apparently.
08:24He had some lung condition and he made himself available for today.
08:30And he came back with a very impressive innings.
08:32How good has he been for them?
08:35Fantastic.
08:36You know, he's been batting with Babar Azam for the last couple of years.
08:39And the way he has taken his place and the way he runs between the wickets, the way he
08:43motivates the team behind the feet.
08:45I feel for this young boy, along with Babar Azam and the whole team.
08:49Because even though he was dropped, you don't ask anybody to drop your catch.
08:52But he's played fantastically for Pakistan throughout the innings and he should hold
08:56his head high along with all the Pakistani players because they deserve to be in the
09:00finals.
09:01But I'm afraid, as I said, cricket is a very, I would say, it levels down to something or
09:07the other.
09:08And Pakistan probably were one step too far from winning this match and probably would
09:14have beaten New Zealand.
09:15But that's the way the game goes.
09:17And how will Shadab Khan be feeling tonight?
09:20He's taken four for 26 in four overs and that's the best ever figures in a T20 World
09:26Cup semi-final.
09:27It was a superb performance from him and he'll probably be feeling desperately unlucky to
09:32be finishing on the losing side, won't he?
09:35He was fantabulous.
09:36Leg spinners are always match winners.
09:39And the way he got all his wickets was through fighting the ball.
09:41He was not afraid to fight the ball.
09:43And yes, he would be feeling devastated.
09:45He does all the hard work.
09:47As you say, you do everything.
09:49But then you still turn up on the losing side.
09:51It must be hurting.
09:52And there was a couple of run-out opportunities.
09:54Stoinis was missed.
09:55Even Wade was missed.
09:56They were not hitting the stumps.
09:57But that's how the game goes.
09:59You can't get everything.
10:01And Pakistan had to be on the losing side.
10:03I feel bad for Pakistan for only reason, because they deserve to win.
10:07Australia also were good.
10:09But on paper, Pakistan looked the better side.
10:12Shaan, Australia have won the 50-over World Cup five times and the Champions Trophy two
10:17times, but the best they've done in the T20 World Cup is finishing as runners-up against
10:22England 10 years ago.
10:25They're in the final again, where they're going to be meeting New Zealand, who I think
10:29we're all surprised have made it that far.
10:32And it looks like Australia is peaking at the right time.
10:34They've got to be the favourites now, surely.
10:36Do you think they're going to do it?
10:38Yeah, I think so.
10:41In fact, after they beat West Indies in the last match, I was pretty convinced that this
10:48is the side which could go all the way.
10:51Because they didn't have the best of preparations.
10:54Australia, when the COVID pandemic hit, Australia was one of the countries which was very badly
11:00affected, especially with all their lockdown rules, which kept changing all the time.
11:08So they didn't have adequate time to prepare.
11:10The players could never come together to even have a camp, really.
11:14So they were very, very undercooked when they came to the UEA for the tournament.
11:20In fact, Aaron Fringe said so much in the run-up to the tournament that their preparations
11:26were far from ideal.
11:28But what they've done is they've used these matches to good effect.
11:31Through the match, throughout the tournament, with every match, they were improving.
11:35And when they played and outplayed West Indies, they were firing at all cylinders.
11:40If you look at that, it was the match in which David Warner ran into form.
11:45Fringe fired well.
11:46Then you had somebody like Mitchell Marshall coming into form.
11:52So everything.
11:53And also we saw Stark running into form.
11:55Of course, Sampa was there on the ball from the right from the first match.
12:00And of course, Josh Hazlewood brings his tennis super kings form into the tournament.
12:06So all those things gelled together and every bits and bobs fell into place as the tournament
12:12progressed.
12:13And as they reached the semi-final, they were everything in place.
12:17And which is why when a tight match, a very tight situation, when two sides are evenly
12:23matched, one misstep can undermine you.
12:27So that which didn't happen today because they played the usual brand of Aussie cricket
12:33the hard way, with full of grit and determination, without yielding an inch.
12:37That's what we saw today.
12:39And that is Australia at their finest.
12:41And I'm sure they'll get better once they get to the final.
12:44And New Zealand now no pushovers, but I still think Australia will win their first T20 trophy.
12:49Anis, I've been reading all your comments and your columns, and I know you've been very
12:54impressed with New Zealand, how they've been quietly just getting on with it without any
12:58major big stars.
12:59They've got this far.
13:00Can they cause a surprise on Sunday?
13:04You know what, I have to give it to 60-42 Australia.
13:08But you never know with this Kiwi team.
13:10As they say, they are not the glamour boys.
13:12They do their job very clinically.
13:15Come into the park, play their cricket in the right way, with the right spirit.
13:20And they have a healthy rivalry with Australia, mind you.
13:22They would like to avenge that 2015 World Cup defeat which they had at their own then
13:26in Australia.
13:28So don't take New Zealand lightly at all.
13:31It's a game.
13:32And that 20 or 40 overs, who plays well.
13:35And because of Australia's stature, we are backing Australia.
13:39But England was also heavily backed, but New Zealand beat them.
13:44It might happen.
13:45And if the curator prepares the same wicket, I would back the team chasing.
13:48OK, it should be an interesting final.
13:51I think we'll leave it there for tonight.
13:53Thanks to my guests.
13:54Remember to log in to gulfnews.com for all the latest news, reviews, analysis, videos
13:58and so much more.
13:59We'll be back on Sunday night to see who wins the T20 World Cup.
14:03Good night.