Michael Hussey sends Australia into World Twenty20 final.
Michael Hussey produced an innings that will go down in Australian Twenty20 cricketing folklore to snatch a nail-biting victory against Pakistan in the semi-finals of the World Twenty20.
With victory seemingly out of Australia’s grasp as they chased an impressive 192-run target, Hussey smacked six sixes on his way to an unbeaten 60 from 24 balls to book Australia a place in the final against England.
After dictating the terms to their opponents for their first five matches of the World Twenty20, Australia found the shoe on the other foot in their semi-final as Pakistan’s openers took control early, and Umar Akmal played a sparkling innings to set a their opponents a formidable 192-run target.
After rain delayed the start of the match, Michael Clarke won an important toss and sent Pakistan in to bat. It all went to plan for Australia in the opening couple of overs as Dirk Nannes opened with a maiden and Shaun Tait conceded just three from his first over of the innings.
Perhaps mindful of the weather and a potential Duckworth/Lewis method result, or maybe just the knowledge the shackles needed to be broken sooner rather than later, Kamran Akmal cracked Nannes for two consecutive fours in the third over and together with Salman Butt helped Pakistan to three more fours from Tait’s second over.
As Australia went wicketless for the first nine overs and the batsmen continued to pepper the boundary and every so often clear it, it started to become clear that – at least with the bat – this version of the Pakistan team wasn’t the one intent on self destruction.
For the first time in the Caribbean, Australia’s formidable pace attack wasn’t commanding the respect of the opposition batsmen to which it had become accustomed.
The long overdue breakthrough came courtesy of Mitchell Johnson in the 10th over, when Akmal (50 from 34 in an innings that included four fours and two sixes) drove the ball in the air and David Warner launched himself to take the spectacular catch at deep cover. The question was whether this would be the trigger for a collapse, and for Australia to wrest back control of a match that most were expecting them to win.
A second, and much more straightforward, catch was delivered by Butt to Warner in the deep two overs later, as he followed his opening partner back to the pavilion after contributing 32 (from 30 deliveries) runs to his team’s total.
Was momentum starting to swing? Or would the arrival of Shahid Afridi at the crease, along with Umar, provide the impetus for Pakistan to continue what they started and build an impressive total for the Australians to chase?
Afridi may have fallen for just eight – as Brad Haddin held onto the catch even as he collided with Shane Watson – and next man in Khalid Latif 13 for six as Nannes took his first and only wicket of the match but all the while Umar (who was unbeaten on 56 from 35 deliveries) with was marching towards a fearless half-century from just 29 balls and guiding his team to a formidable total of 191-6 to equal the highest total the Australians had managed so far during the tournament.
Australia’s much vaunted pace trio of Nannes, Tait and Johnson had been carted for 94 runs between them, and had just two wickets to show for their collective 12 overs, as their short ball tactics failed to intimidate Pakistan’s batsmen.
The upshot was the Australian batsman found themselves in the unfamiliar position of chasing a massive target, and the pursuit couldn’t have begun in more disappointing fashion with Mohammad Aamer capturing big-hitting opener David Warner’s wicket before he’d had a chance to trouble the scoreboard.
Shane Watson, whose two overs of medium pace hadn’t provided any joy, quickly took to the task at hand but two fours, one six and 16 runs later Aamer had his second wicket for the match as the opener was caught at long-on.
The moment had arrived for Clarke, yet to post a big score in the tournament, to produce a captain’s knock against a Pakistan side that already had one foot in Sunday’s final. Haddin already had, but after 25 runs from 20 balls, the No. 3 batsmen was stumped after coming down the pitch to meet Abdur Rehman and failing to connect with the ball.
Clarke, after surviving an lbw appeal off Afridi in the following over, was caught out of his ground trying to meet the spinner the very next ball, as his innings ended after 17-runs made from the same number of deliveries.
Cameron White and David Hussey sought the most direct route to reeling in the towering target as the required run-rate crept in a northerly direction, with Watson unleashing four sixes in rapid succession, before one Hussey brother was replaced with another, Michael, as Rehman claimed another Australian scalp.
Any outside chance Australia may have had of snatching victory from a Pakistan team that found form at the right stage of the competition seemed to have dissipated with White’s dismissal in the 17th over, after an innings that had yielded 43 from 31 deliveries, including five sixes.
Michael Hussey, however, had a different idea and made the seemingly impossible a reality as he smashed six after six to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with a ball to spare.
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