Australia underdogs against Pakistan in role reversal
DUBAI: It will be quite a role reversal with Australia being the proverbial underdogs in Thursday’s semi-final of the Twenty20 World Cup against a red-hot Pakistan who have displayed rare consistency to set alight the tournament. Aaron Finch’s Australia were written off after losing all five Twenty20 series they played, including in Bangladesh, before heading into the tournament and have not looked entirely convincing despite making the last four.
In a spin-dominated tournament, they have reposed faith in the pace of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins and favoured playing seven specialist batsmen.
Adam Zampa has led their spin attack and with 11 wickets from five matches is the jointleading wicket-taker of the Super 12 stage of the tournament.
Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis have chipped in at different times to play the fifth bowler’s role with Australia refusing to compromise on their batting strength.
“I think you can look at stats and you can deep dive into whether you should be bowling spin or quicks in the powerplay,” Finch said on the eve of the match.
“They’re a world-class trio of quick bowlers and we’ve got Kane Richardson there as well, who’s arguably one of the best T20 bowlers in the world who hasn’t featured just yet.
“We’re really happy with how that’s gone.”
Finch will hope the ploy works against the tournament’s only unbeaten team who are chasing their second 20-overs world title. For a team known as much for their surfeit of talent as for their mercurial nature, Pakistan have been a revelation in the tournament. Babar Azam’s side have laid the marker with their unblemished Super 12 run built around their incisive bowling attack and incendiary batting. Babar has led by example and is the tournament’s leading run-scorer and has a perfect foil in opening partner Mohammad Rizwan, who is number six in that table.
Down the order, they are blessed with the power-hitting skills of Asif Ali and the reassuring presence of veterans Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez.
Their bowling, traditionally their strong suit, has been equally impressive.
Shaheen Afridi’s left-arm swing has troubled the best batsmen, while spinners Shadab Khan and Imad Wasim have been very impressive.
Pakistan’s batting consultant Matthew Hayden believes the 10-wicket thrashing of arch-rivals India set the tone for his side in the ongoing T20 World Cup and cited the players’ commitment to training and spirituality as the reasons for a stupendous unbeaten run so far.
“The highlight...the first game that we played here at Dubai, where we’re playing tomorrow night, against India, and just how under immense pressure...only comparable to the Ashes series, just how these boys wonderfully handled very calmly and very confidently their approach to playing such a huge match,” Hayden told reporters in the pre-match press conference.
“I think that game really set us up for what has been a really lovely four weeks of solid work, great commitment to training, great purpose in general...,” he added.
“...also a wonderful heart connect to Islam and how spirituality has played its role within the Pakistan team as a great guide and tool for everyone to come together,” Hayden added.
Tactically on Thursday, Hayden will be up against his former opening colleague Justin Langer, who is the chief coach of Australia. And he believes his knowledge about Australian players and cricketing culture will hold Pakistan in good stead. “It is a very unusual feeling. As you all know, I was a warrior for Australian cricket over two decades, so that does give me the benefit of having wonderful insights not only into these players but also into the culture of cricket in Australia,” he said. “I guess from my point of view there is the challenge of the heart, the challenge of the mind in terms of what’s going to happen over the next 24 hours, but I’ll also say very proudly that it’s been wonderful to be a part of Pakistan cricket,” he added.
Hayden feels that the T20 World Cup title is of great significance to Pakistan, which has been deprived of hosting international cricket for a long time due to security concerns.