Ocober 2, 2012
Brief Scorecard: Pakistan 149 for 6 (Jamshed 55, Starc 3-20) beat Australia 117 for 7 (Hussey 54*, Ajmal 3-17) by 32 runs
Nasir Jamshed shared a half-century stand with Kamran Akmal
With the victory of Pakistan, South Africa were eliminated from the T20 World Cup.
Ocober 2, 2012
Brief Scorecard: Pakistan 149 for 6 (Jamshed 55, Starc 3-20) beat Australia 117 for 7 (Hussey 54*, Ajmal 3-17) by 32 runs
Nasir Jamshed shared a half-century stand with Kamran Akmal
With the victory of Pakistan, South Africa were eliminated from the T20 World Cup.
Australia were required to score 112 runs to qualify for the semifinal and they finished the match with 117/7.
An impressive half-century by Nasir Jamshed and useful contributions from Kamran Akmal and Abdul Razzaq helped Pakistan post a competitive 149 for six against Australia in their final Super Eights match of the ICC World Twenty20 here at R Premadasa stadium on Tuesday.
Jamshed made 55 off 46 balls and along with Akmal added 79 runs for the third wicket. Akmal made 32 off 26 balls with the help of a four and a six.
Abdul Razzaq's 22 off 17 balls also helped Pakistan in reaching close to the 150-run mark while left-arm seamer Mitchell Starc was pick of the Australian bowlers with brilliant figures of 3 for 20 in his four-over spell.
Put into bat, Pakistan skipper Mohammed Hafeez was the first one to walk back to the dug-out when Starc's inswinging delivery caught him plumb in-front after he had made only four.
The normally fluent Imran Nazir struck a couple of boundaries but was out in the most disappointing manner when he closed the face of his bat to a tame full toss from Shane Watson and was caught in the mid-off region.
At 29 for two, Kamran and Jamshed got together and resurrected the innings. Initially, the duo depended a lot on singles and twos but after getting set, hit some breathtaking shots.
Jamshed pulled a bouncer from Pat Cummins in a superb fashion behind square for his first six with the ball landing in the stands.
He also slogged left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty over deep mid-wicket for his second six. A lofted drive over Watson's head for a one bounce four was also pleasing to the eye.
Kamran, who hasn't had a good time with the willow, finally got some runs under his belt. A six off Hogg over long on showed that the controversial glovesman was ready to prove his critics wrong.
Jamshed got to his second half-century of the tournament with a lofted boundary off Hogg. He achieved the feat in 41 balls and with four boundaries and two sixes.
He was finally out when he tried to give Doherty the charge but could only find the long-on fielder.
Akmal soon followed as he offered a low catch to Cameron White off Starc who had come back for his second spell.
From 108 for two, Pakistan had suddenly slumped to 108 for four. Abdul Razzaq in company of Umar Akmal hit a few lusty blows towards the end of the innings to give the total a respectable look.
Earlier, Australian skipper George Bailey won the toss and elected to field against Pakistan in their last super eight match of ICC T20 World Cup here at R Premadasa stadium in Colombo on Tuesday.
Australians are unchanged side for this game while Pakistan have made one change in the side. Abudl Razzaq will have first game in this tournament. Yasir Arafat has paved the way for Razzaq.
After losing the toss, Hafeez said he too would have bowled first. He says a target of 150 plus on this pitch will be tough to chase.
It’s Watson vs Spinners
Pakistan have landed itself in real trouble after losing their last game against arch-rivals India on Sunday.
It will be a must win tie against Australia for Mohammad Hafeez & his men in their last game of Super Eight in the ICC T20 World Cup here at R Premadasa stadium in Colombo.
After starting the tournament impressively, Pakistanis are on the verge of elimination if they lost this match against Australia.
After winning this game, Pakistan will have to pray for India’s defeat against South Africa in the second game of Group 2, scheduled to be held later in the day.
The equations are very complex in the Group 2. Pakistan can’t settle less than a victory against Australia to secure a berth in the World T20 Semi Finals.
However, after losing game against India, the morale of Pakistan side is certainly low. The side will have to regain confidence against Australia in a must win game or risk the elimination from the tournament.
It will be a contest between in-form Shane Watson and entire Pakistani team. Watson is the key person in Australia’s ICC T20 World Cup 2012 campaign. Watson has won four man of the match awards in the row. He has taken 10 wickets and scored 234 runs.
Michael Hussey rescued Australia, Australia v Pakistan, Super Eights, World Twenty20 2012, Colombo, October 2, 2012
For Australia, the middle order is yet to be tested as Watson and David Warner have took Oz home quite comfortably in the last four games. Though, Michael Hussey and Cameron White have shown touch in given opportunities.
There is little ray of hope for Pakistan as they defeated Australia in UAE 2-1 in T20 series. They are quite aware about the batting and bowling attack of Aussies.
Well, Australians are through to the Semi Finals but they can’t take risk to land in theoretical equations after taking Pakistanis lightly.
