T20 World Cup 2021: "It was very conventional" - Mahela Jayawardene feels Pakistan bowlers did not put pressure on Wade, Stoinis

Former Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene reckons that Pakistan's bowlers did not exert enough pressure on Matthew Wade and Marcus Stoinis towards the closing stages of the T20 World Cup 2021 semi-final.

Chasing 177 for victory, Australia needed 50 to win off the last four overs. However, Wade (41* off 17) played a blinder to take the Aussies home with an over to spare. Stoinis also played his part with an unbeaten 40 off 31.

Discussing the match, Jayawardene described Pakistan’s bowling plan in the end overs as "very conventional." In an interaction on ESPNCricinfo, he explained:

“The only criticism of the Pakistan bowlers would be that they did not bowl those wide lines, going away from those arcs. It was very conventional. It was either the yorker, slower ball or back of a length. The two Australian batsmen (Wade and Stoinis) did premeditate. They picked up a few balls, executed (their shots) and put a lot of pressure on those bowlers.”

According to Jayawardene, while the two Australian batters rose to the challenge of the big occasion, Pakistan failed to execute their plans in the last few overs. He added:

“The two batters showed amazing maturity. They thrived on the situation and the Pakistani bowlers, under pressure, did not execute their plans.”

Defending a total of 176, build around fifties from Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman, Pakistan had Australia on the mat at 96 for 5 as Shadab Khan claimed four big wickets. However, Hasan Ali and Haris Rauf conceded plenty before Wade hit Shaheen Afridi for three consecutive sixes to seal the contest.

“Pakistan have been the better team in the tournament” - Ajit Agarkar

According to former India pacer Ajit Agarkar, Pakistan should be proud of their performance despite making an exit at the semi-final stage. He pointed out that Pakistan were the better of the two teams in the tournament but Australia raised their level on the big day, like they often do.

Agarkar said:

“Pakistan have been the better team in the tournament but Australia turned up in the game that mattered. Pakistan will learn from this experience. There are a lot of young guys in the team. They put up a very mature performance.”

Australia will face New Zealand in the final in Dubai on Sunday. Neither side has won the T20 World Cup yet so we will have a new winner this year.