See you for the final
We leave you with a teaser from the report. Thanks for joining us.
"Second night in a row, second tournament favourites, Pakistan this time, paid the price for conservative batting in the first innings and were consumed by the curse of the defence. They looked like in much more control than England did in Abu Dhabi, with Australia needing 62 off the last five with just five wickets in hand. They had two batters, who had barely batted in the tournament, but Matthew Wade and Marcus Stoinis got the better of possibly the best attack of the tournament with clean hitting.
It will be tempting to paint Hasan Ali, whose 18th over went for 15 and who dropped Wade in the 19th before he unfurled a hat-trick of sixes, as the villain, but the match was lost when Pakistan scored just 71 in the first 10 overs on arguably the best batting track Dubai has rolled out all tournament.
They somehow got to 176 thanks to Fakhar Zaman’s 32-ball 55. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shadab Khan then kept Pakistan’s noses ahead – Shadab’s 4 for 26 are the best figures in a T20 World Cup semi-final – but Stoinis and Wade had the final say."
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The tricks of the chase
That's what happens when you go for just a par score. Chasing sides have a huge advantage. Pakistan had a par score, they needed everything to go their way, and finally they made a fielding error in the 19th over. It was all over after that. Matthew Wade hit three successive sixes off Afridi. He loves pace on the ball. Australia into the finals now.
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Wade takes Australia home
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As it turns out, the 20th over is not even required. Didn't make sense to bowl Hasan in the 18th. Heartbreak for Pakistan. Ecstasy for Australia.
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Hasan to bowl the 18th
Three overs to go. Each quick has an over each. Pakistan go to Hasan first. Usually captains keep the weakest bowler for the 20th, but Pakistan have given him the 18th. Not sure why. Thirty-seven required
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Into the final five we go
62 Runs needed off last five. New Zealand needed 60 last night and got there with plenty to spare
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Shadab takes Pakistan ahead
Shadab Khan's figure with Maxwell falling to a reverse hit in his last over. These are the best figures for any bowler in a T20 World Cup semi-final. Australia 103 for 5 in 13 overs.
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Warner walks. Did he hit it, though?
Live time it looked straightforward. Slider from Shadab, Warner plays for legbreak, there is a sound as the ball passes the bat, and Rizwan goes up right away, and Warner walks off. Replays, though, show a gap between bat and ball, and there is nothing on UltraEdge either. Massive moment in the game. Warner gone for 49 off 30. Australia 89 for 4 in 10.1 overs.
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No slowing down
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End of Powerplay but action doesn't stop. Marsh and Smith out slogging Shadab but Warner looking ominous at the other end. The highlight of his innings: when the ball got stuck in the bowler's hand, and looked like it might roll along the pitch, he jumped out of the crease and with no pace to work with, he hit it streets over midwicket for a six. Australia 77 for 3 in 8.3.
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Shadab drags Australia back
From 13 for 1 in three overs, Warner and Marsh assaulted both Imad and Rauf to end the Powerplay at 52 for 1, but Shadab Khan has Marsh caught in the deep. Marsh was not wasting time going for singles. To hit out was his role. And Australia have sent in Smith ahead of Maxwell. They want Maxwell to finish off if needed.
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Warner gets stuck into Imad
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Australia 30 for 1 in four overs
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Golden duck for captain Finch
You knew, right, that Afridi was coming for the right-hand batters' pads? Surely Finch knew too? But knowing it is not enough. Finch clearly late on an inswinger, and plays horribly outside the line to be trapped in front. A celebrappeal follows. Next ball, Marsh survives by the barest of margins with the umpire's call going his way on a full toss. Australia 1 for 1 in 1 over.
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What to make of Rizwan's innings?
Sixty-seven off 52 on a flat track looks like negative impact, but the funny thing is, you can't fault his intent. He kept playing his shots, but it was one of those days where he struggled for timing but also failed to get out. He also looked like struggling with his health. He had flu-like symptoms and was in the hospital last night. Matthew Hayden said during the break that he had a lungs issue.
And with Pakistan bowling, you never know. Any target can be good enough.
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Fakhar gives Pakistan hope
Some lusty hitting in the end from Fakhar Zaman after pretty ordinary numbers in the league stages. Here, too, he looked like struggling at 17 off 17, but then Australia started to bowl full and he went deeper and deeper into the crease to convert them into slot balls. Starc saw that Cummins over and bowled short to shut Fakhar out in the 20th over, but later went full again and got carted for consecutive sixes. Fakhar finishes with 55 off 32 to take Pakistan to 176. It still looks light, but with pakistan bowling you never know.
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Cummins kills momentum
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That's the 19th over, with the opposition just two down.
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Hazlewood errs
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That 17th over from Hazlewood. Just the luck Pakistan needed?
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Zampa delivers too
Zampa's figures, having bowled his last over in the last five. Pakistan 122 for 1 in 16. Australia have tied Pakistan up
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Fifty for Rizwan
41 Balls taken by Rizwan to get there. He owes his team some acceleration on what looks like a flat track. Pakistan 106 for 1 in 14 overs.
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Starc comes back
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The 13th over, bowled by Starc, whos figures now read 2-0-8-0. Pakistan 92 for 1 in 13.
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Maxwell does the job again
20 Number of runs conceded by Maxwell in three overs. Marsh went for 11. Fifth bowler's quota done for 31. Australia will be chuffed
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Middle-overs choke
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Both overs bowled by spinners, resulting in a slog sweep from Babar, but Zampa hardly lets you get under the ball that much. Caught at long-on. Pakistan 71 for 1 in 10, have they left themselves needing 120 in the last 10?
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11 off M Marsh
Australia try to get an over from fifth bowler out of the way, but Babar and Rizwan attack the eighth over, taking 11 off. That was the fillip they needed after a boundary-less seventh over, bowled by Zampa. Australia seem to have decided they need to backload for the death overs. Getting the fifth bowler out of the way with Maxwell bowling to two right-hand batters in the ninth. And he manages to keep them down to six single, which is a win for Australia. Three overs from the fifth bowler done. Pakistan 68 for 0 in nine overs.
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Powerplay done
Rizwan has been playing shots at almost every ball, which is how T20 should be. He has played one sensational sweep-pull, Babar has played a couple of pristine cover-drives, and Pakistan have scored 47 for 0, easily their most productive Powerplay this World Cup. Their intent tells me they reckon this pitch is a belter, and signs are there. They need a big total here.
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Slow and steady
5.83 Pakistan's run rate in the Powerplay. Only Scotland, Namibia, Bangladesh and PNG have fared worse. However, they average 87.5 in the Powerplay, which means they choose to set up a platform for later overs. They are 21 for 0 after three overs, showing signs of being more adventurous.
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Starc bowls one
2 Number of times out of five times before today that Starc bowled more than one over in Powerplay. He has been taken off after one over. Pakistan 11 for 0 after two overs.
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Target 180?
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Enormity of challenge for Pakistan
10 Number of matches out of 11 in Dubai in this World Cup that have been won by the side chasing. The only successful defence was by New Zealand against Scotland in a day game.
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Australia win the toss, chase
So the best side of this tournament will have to take the scenic route if they are to make it to the final. They have to do something even England, the best T20 side overall, struggled to do last night: bat first and get to an above-par total. England managed just about par, and it showed how you can't have even minor blip with that kind of a total. Pakistan have a better bowling unit. Will they look to go par or will they target an above-par score of provide for all the vagaries of a defence in a dewy ground in a T20 match?
Pakistan 1 Mohammad Rizwan†, 2 Babar Azam*, 3 Fakhar Zaman, 4 Mohammad Hafeez, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Asif Ali, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Hasan Ali, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Shaheen Shah Afridi
Australia 1 DA Warner, 2 AJ Finch*, 3 MR Marsh, 4 GJ Maxwell, 5 SPD Smith, 6 MP Stoinis, 7 MS Wade†, 8 PJ Cummins, 9 MA Starc, 10 A Zampa, 11 JR Hazlewood
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T20 Timeout
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If you're in the USA, watch the match live on ESPN+ in English here and in Hindi here
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KO time
"You have to play like you don't care, but you have to care a lot."
These are Grant Elliott's words that best sum up how to approach a knockout scenario. Care a lot but play like you don't care. It is a fickle format already, and the conditions in this tournament make it even more fickle with so much relying on the toss. Pakistan have been the best team this tournament, the only unbeaten side so far, but anything can happen in the next three-and-a-half hours. This format is so condensed it laughs at the idea of favourites. But they have to play like they don't care about the result, and yet know that it eventually becomes all about the result.
In their way are Australia who have much less to lose, but trying being in their shoes. This year they have been beaten by a half-strength Indian side at home. They have been beaten in New Zealand, the West Indies and Bangladesh. Their best T20 player didn't even get to play the IPL because his team fell out of love with him. Two good sets of three-and-a-half hours and they could redeem the whole year in the public eye. Try telling them to not care.
The challenge for both teams will be that they haven't faced such attacks all tournament. Pakistan haven't faced tall bowlers bowling hard lengths. Australia haven't faced such a complete attack. How the batters cope with this challenge will go a long way in determining who wins. As will the toss. It is not far.
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