Preview: Unbeaten Pakistan eye T20 World Cup final

Dubai, United Arab Emirates It is somewhat unheard of for Australia to be the underdog in the Cricket World Cup semi-finals.

But when Pakistan take on Pakistan in Dubai in the second semi-final of the T20 World Cup on Thursday, it will be the Asian side that will be the favorites to advance to the final where New Zealand awaits.

Pakistan have won all their five matches in the tournament. Captain Babar Azam is second on the scorers chart. Man of the match awards are shared and the team has gone through several trials on the field.

Australia, however, looks nothing short of reassuring about their race in the semi-finals. But leg-spinner Adam Zampa is second on the wicket-takers list – with five wickets to his name – and the openers have started to click.

But reaching the last four is nothing short of a remarkable achievement for any side.

recent performance

Pakistan came into the tournament after series against New Zealand and England were cancelled. The first withdrew minutes before the start of the match while the latter withdrew after three days.

Earlier this week, three of Pakistan’s four T20Is in the West Indies were rained out.

But all that didn’t count as Azam’s men entered the semi-finals unbeaten, including a first-ever World Cup win over India which failed to reach the last-four.

Australia lost their last five T20Is coming into the tournament, including Bangladesh, and looked far from the top four teams.

But Zampa and a three-man pace attack helped Warner’s return to form as well as reach the semi-finals.

“I guess you can see the figures [statistics] And you can think deeply about whether you should bowl spin or fast in the powerplays,” said Australia captain Aaron Finch.

“They are a world-class trio of fast bowlers and we also have Kane Richardson, arguably one of the best T20 bowlers in the world, who has not performed yet. We are really happy how it went. ,

head to head

It is Pakistan that leads the face-off between the two sides, having won 13 out of 23 matches.

The two last met in November 2019, with Australia winning the three-match series 2-0 after rain ruined the opening match.

But in the UAE, Pakistan are a formidable side, unbeaten in 16 T20Is here since November 2015. His last T20 defeat to Australia came in 2014 in the United Arab Emirates.

Australia have won all four World Cup knockout matches against Pakistan, including the 2010 T20 World Cup semi-final, where Michael Hussey’s late attack, especially targeting Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal, led the team to the final. Helped to get there.

Hayden vs Langer

The semi-finals will also feature Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer, one of Test cricket’s most enduring and destructive opening partnerships.

Langer is Australia’s head coach while Hayden was appointed as the batting consultant by the new head of Pakistan cricket, Ramiz Raja, ahead of the tournament.

Hayden said, ‘It’s a very unusual feeling. “I was a warrior for Australian cricket over two decades, which gives me the benefit of having amazing insight into not only these players but also the culture of cricket in Australia.”

They debuted together for the first time in 2001 and played together for the last time in 2007 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

In between, the pair amassed 5,655 runs together when opening, a stand that includes six double-century partnerships.

Sickness worries for Pakistan

Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan and veteran Shoaib Malik, who scored more T20 runs this year than anyone else, were ruled out of the last training session with mild flu.

Both the players have contributed to Pakistan’s path to the semi-finals so missing either on Thursday will be a big blow to Azam’s hopes of reaching the final.

Rizwan is the Super 12’s third-highest run-scorer, while Malik, who was included in the squad of late, scored the joint-fastest fifty of the tournament against Scotland in Pakistan’s final group match.