Hurricane Hussey too hot for Pakistan!
Michael Hussey did a Michael Bevan to steer Australia into the final of the Twenty20 World Cup as the Aussies continued their domination over Pakistan. Similar to the a Bevan performance, who was famous for his last-ball winners, Michael Hussey kept his nerve to collect the required 18 runs off the final over to dent Pakistan’s chances of reaching their third consecutive final of the Twenty20 World Cup. Luckless bowler Saeed Ajmal failed to handle the pressure and Hussey took him to task by belting 4 boundaries off as many deliveries.
The Australians made the worst possible start to their chase of 192 runs by losing the explosive David Warner to Mohammad Aamir for naught, that too in the first over. Mohammad Aamir struck again in his second over, dismissing the dangerous Shane Watson for 16 runs. Abdur Rehman took the catch in the deep. Rehman was among the wickets too as he accounted for Brad Haddin after having him stumped by Kamran Akmal for 25 off 20 balls. Australian skipper Michael Clarke was cleaned up four runs later as he tried to hit his Pakistani counterpart out of the park, only to find himself stumped for a 19-ball 17. Abdur Rehman then struck in his third over, taking David Hussey down, caught and bowled for just 13 runs.
However, what happened next was to take the match away from the Pakistani team, where Cameron White hit as many as 4 sixes to unsettle the Pakistani spinners. Although he was dismissed after hitting 5 sixes in his 31-ball 43, he laid the base for Michael Hussey. Steven Smith got out in the next over for just 5, giving Kamran Akmal his third stumping of the innings and Saeed Ajmal his first wicket of the match.
Michael Hussey then roared from his den and did what he does the best. In the last 3 overs of the match, Australia required 48 runs to win and reach their first ICC Twenty20 World Cup final. However, despite accurate bowling changes, brilliant field placing and calculated captaincy from Shahid Khan Afridi, Pakistan failed to stop Hussey’s hurricane knock that saw him score 60 not out off just 24 balls! His innings included 6 sixes and 3 fours, and proved that one can make a difference!
The Pakistan team, which did not have a great tournament bowed out of the event in a disastrous style. They won just 2 matches but fought well in their games against England and the semi-final against Australia. For Pakistan, Mohammad Aamir was the star bowler. He bowled four overs, gave away 35 runs and took 3 important wickets. Skipper Shahid Afridi and Abdur Rehman also bowled well in tandem, but Saeed Ajmal’s calamitous last over cost the green shirts the match. He snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, and helped Australia reach their first Twenty20 World Cup final.
Earlier, after losing the toss and put into bat, Shahid Afridi and his men made the most of Michael Clarke’s shocking decision to bowl under cloudy skies that did him no favor. The openers sizzled, the middle order bamboozled and the Australian bowling attack that had demolished the best batsmen throughout the tournament was blasted to all parts of the ground. The Akmal brothers were the star performers for the green shirts, scoring quick fire half centuries. They helped Pakistan post 191 runs on the board for the loss of six wickets, with Kamran reaching his second fifty of the event off 32 balls and Umar doing it better in 29 balls. The target at that time seemed defendable, but as Hussey proved later, anything’s possible!
Australia will now face archrivals England on Sunday in their first T20 version of the ‘Ashes’ in 23 years. The last time the two teams met in the final of an ICC event was way back in 1987 at Calcutta’s Eden Gardens where Allan Border led his side well and defeated Mike Gatting’s England. Let’s see whether Australia manages to repeat history or England puts a brake to the Aussie domination!
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