Pakistan takes on Australia in the second semi-final of the T20 World Championship in St. Lucia on Friday. Believe it or not, Pakistan has made it to the semi-finals, despite their mediocre run in the tournament. Just after their 1 run defeat at the hands of New Zealand, they were all but ready to pack their bags. However, little did they know that Pakistan will be gearing up to face the mighty Aussies in the final four of the tournament. This will be Pakistan’s third consecutive appearance in as many years.
The Pakistani cricket team are usually tagged as the dark horses of cricket wherever they play. Their unpredictable nature to perform and underperform has led to their downfall on a number of instances. However, the same quality has also made them a team which can beat the strongest teams on any given day. After beating Bangladesh in the first match of the group stages, Australia defeated Pakistan in all departments of the game in the second group game. Memories from the miserable tour of Australia came rushing back to the team and the whole nation after the loss. Meanwhile in the Super eights stage, their lacklustre performances against England and New Zealand meant that Pakistan were banking on other teams to gain a place in the semi-finals. On their end, they were given the task to beat South Africa. It was not an easy job to do after looking at their poor performances in the entire tournament. Somehow, Shahid Afridi managed to inspire his young team to overhaul the chokers from Africa. Probably, it was Pakistan’s grit and determination that brought the best out of the players. Contrary to that, the curse of ICC events came back to haunt the proteas, who looked a shadow of themselves, falling 11 runs short of the target. The win gave Pakistan a glimmer of hope. England did Pakistan the favour of a lifetime by beating New Zealand. As a result, Pakistan once again sneaked in through the backdoor to reach the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.
Not many teams have been able to achieve this feat through luck and chance. Many similarities can be seen in Pakistan’s ascendancy to the throne in 1992, 2009 and this year’s performance in the T20 World Cup. If the team beats Australia in the semis, it will be the third consecutive final in T20 World Cups for the Pakistani boys.
However, Australia will not be easily pushed over as one may like to think. The Aussies have won 5 ODI World Cups so far, have dominated the world of test cricket for decades, and are going strong in the current T20 World Cup as well. However, the one thing in Pakistan’s favour is that this is T20 cricket. The men in green are on top of the tree when it comes to this format. However, in recent times, the Aussies have drubbed Pakistan in their tour down under. The only thing which can save the day for Pakistan is their tendency to play their best when they are pushed to a corner. This may be another one of those rare occasions.
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