The focus shifted to the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali where teams belonging to Group 2 of the Super 10 arrived in a bid to seal the only place available for the semi-finals. While Pakistan faced a do or die situation, the Australians were also under pressure to bolster their chances.
Pakistan had come into the massive match with a loss against New Zealand at the same venue which also threatened to destabilize their camp. Amidst all the chatter coming out from the group, Shahid Afridi had also announced that he could finally retire at the end of the tournament.
After a loss to the Kiwis in Dharamsala, Australia brought their campaign back on track by just scraping past Bangladesh, With Shane Watson also calling it a day following the competition, Steve Smith had a tough task on his hands.
However, he won the toss and decided to set a target which could have stemmed from Pakistan’s recent chasing woes. Smith and Watson joined hands and helped the Aussies to a powerful score which eventually proved too much for the Pakistani batsmen to handle. Let us take a look at the five most memorable moments in chronological order.
#1 – Wahab continues the Pakistani tradition
Wahab Riaz is something of an enigma in Pakistani cricket. Capable of unsettling any batsman with a combination of aggression and relentlessness, the 30-year old could be a dangerous proposition.
However, his strength might also work against him by leakage of runs during vital moments. At Mohali, the Wahab whom the cricket world likes to watch turned up as Australia struggled against his raw pace.
He dismissed Usman Khawaja and David Warner in successive overs to help his team comeback into the proceedings. Operating around 147-148 KPH, Riaz breached their defenses with fuller deliveries to castle the stumps.
Even though he conceded some runs at the death-overs, Wahab had once again delighted the spectators in his brief spell.
#2 – Captain Smith stamps his authority
Before the tournament, the Australian selectors had appointed Steve Smith as the skipper of the national team across all formats to ensure continuity in the camp. Smith was in tremendous form in both Tests and ODIs and would have wanted to make a mark in T20Is as well.
And, he did exactly that by negotiating a tricky situation with a calm head to guide his team in the middle-overs. Smith ran hard between the wickets and targeted the gaps at will which placed the Pakistani fielders under immense pressure.
He forged a useful partnership with Glenn Maxwell by feeding him the strike. When Maxwell fell, the skipper took further responsibilty to find the boundaries as Watson began to settle in.
In the end, Smith’s half-century turned out to be extremely crucial as Australia found another gear during the end overs.
#3 – Watson comes to the party
When Watson walked into the middle, the Aussies were at 119/4 from 13.4 overs and their hopes of piling on a huge score were receding. The burly all-rounder took his time and was content with finding his timing first.
Then, he started to unleash an array of dazzling shots as the Pakistani bowlers were put to the sword. The much awaited clash between Wahab and Watson did not quite set the stage on fire.
The right-hander got into his groove by pulling a short ball from Riaz into the deep square boundary. Mohammad Amir found the increasingly changing nature of the format as Watson smashed him to all parts of the ground.
A score of 160 odd was extrapolated to a game-changing 193, courtesy Watson's exploits at the end.
#4 – Sharjeel starts off with a bang
Pakistan and chasing a target never seem to go hand in hand. In spite of a dominating knock from Sharjeel Khan against New Zealand, they somehow contrived to dig themselves into a hole from which recovery was not possible.
Sharjeel started off cautiously against Josh Hazlewood which suggested a change in approach. But, the well-built opener allayed those misconceptions and started to do what he was required of him.
The left-hander destroyed Nathan Coulter-Nile for three boundaries in the second over to set the ball rolling. Though Ahmed Shehzad perished, he kept playing his shots until he was sent back by James Faulkner.
#5 – James Faulkner ends Pakistan’s chances
Faulkner is a vital cog in the Australian limited-overs outfits with his canny bowling coupled with explosive batting. Off late, he was struggling to control his variations which meant that the bowling unit’s potency was diminishing.
But, the seam bowlers put all those thoughts to rest with a match-winning spell in a crunch match. Faulkner got rid of the dangerous Sharjeel in his very first over to peg Pakistan back.
He returned in the business stage of the innings by using the slower ball to great effect. Khalid Latif and Imad Wasim were dismissed in quick succession as pressure began to mount on Pakistan.
Faulkner ended the contest with a couple more in his final over to register the first ever five-wicket haul in T20Is by an Australian bowler.
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
