Michael Hussey celebrating the win with his coach
The playoffs of the T20 World Cup were even more intense when Australia and Pakistan clashed against each other for a spot in the finals. The defending champions Pakistan had almost sealed their place in the finals for the third time when the Australian team decided to turn the tables. Let’s take a look at the match and how Michael Hussey turned down the hopes of Pakistani fans and the team.
After their astonishing performances in the Super Eight stages, Australia and Pakistan clashed against each other in the semi-final, which was being played at the Beausejour Stadium in Gros Islet. Shahid Afridi and Michael Clarke, the respective captains, came out for the toss, which was eventually won by the Australian captain. Looking at the pitch conditions, Clarke thought it to be fruitful for chasing, as he decided to field first.
Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt came to open Pakistan’s innings, and they surely troubled the Australian bowlers. Losing no wickets in the powerplay, the team eventually reached 50 runs in just 6.5 overs, with Akmal and Butt contributing equally to the team. With half a century of the team done within 7 overs, Kamran decided to boost the scoring rate.
As a result, he scored 50 runs in the 10th over, marking an impressive half-century at the most important stage of the tournament. But Mitchell Johnson gave the first breakthrough to the Australian team, as he dismissed Kamran Akmal in the 10th over, followed by an impressive catch by David Warner at the deep covers. He was dismissed, scoring 50 runs off 34 balls, with 6 fours and 2 sixes.
Salman Butt quickly followed him to the pavilion, as he was dismissed by Steven Smith, after scoring 32 runs off 30 balls with 4 fours. At this stage, when Pakistan needed a stable batsman who could maintain the run rate, Umar Akmal decided to take the centre stage. But he didn’t receive the required support from the other end, as the skipper, Shahid Afridi, also got dismissed by Hussey at the score of 8 runs off 9 balls.
Towards the end, Umar Akmal received the much-needed support from Khalid Latif and Abdul Razzaq, who helped him by even scoring boundaries at the other end. But following their wickets, Umar Akmal went smashing the Australian bowlers on his own. He further went on to complete his half-century in just 29 balls, with 2 fours and 4 sixes.
The last over of Pakistan’s innings was truly dramatic, featuring two run outs by Shaun Tait, with his magnificent throws, and some misunderstanding between the Pakistani batters. The team finished with a total score of 191 runs for the loss of 6 wickets, as Umar Akmal’s heroics helped the team to reach this score. Now, it was time for the bowlers to showcase their strength against the Australian batters.
David Warner and Shane Watson came out to chase this mammoth score, set by the Pakistan team. But the start was definitely not one that they had expected, as Warner got out on the second ball of the innings, falling a victim to Mohammad Amir. Shane Watson and Brad Haddin had further started to accelerate the innings well, but that didn’t last long.
In the third over, Mohammad Amir took his second wicket, by dismissing Shane Watson at the score of 16 runs off 9 balls. Now, the Australian team had lost both of its opening batsmen and were in some serious trouble ahead of this massive chase. Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin were able to settle for the team and prevent the Pakistani bowlers from taking more wickets in the powerplay.
But Shahid Afridi had different plans, as he brought down the spin attack to tackle the set batters. As a result, Brad Haddin lost his wicket to Abdul Rehman at the score of 25 runs off 20 balls in the 8th over. This was quickly followed by the wicket of the skipper, Michael Clarke, who got out to Shahid Afridi at the score of 17 runs off 19 balls. Australia was now 4 down for the score of 62 when Cameron White and David Hussey were at the crease.
Starting off their partnership aggressively, David Hussey and Cameron White were able to boost the run rate for the Australian team, keeping them in the game. But that didn’t last long, as Abdur Rehman was able to send Hussey back to the pavilion, taking his wicket at the score of 13 runs off just 9 balls. With half of the Australian side in the pavilion, Pakistan thought they had the job done, but then came the unexpected package in the form of Michael Hussey.
Along with White, Hussey helped the team boost the run rate and close in on the target as soon as possible. Taking a look at this settled pair, Shahid Afridi brought Mohammad Amir back into the attack. Thus, he went on to take the wicket of Cameron White, who got out at the score of 43 runs off 31 balls with 5 sixes. This was quickly followed by the wicket of Steven Smith, taken by Saeed Ajmal, as the team was now 7 down for 144 in 17.1 overs.
By this time, Michael Hussey stood at just 16 runs off 11 balls. But he quickly realised it was his time to step up, as he went on to smash against Saeed Ajmal in the 18th over, finishing with 9 runs off its last three deliveries. The match-deciding over came out to be the 19th, where Hussey went against Mohammad Amir, bowling the last over of his spell. He went on to score 16 runs off the same, including two boundaries, and now Australia needed 18 off the last over.
Johnson had the strike against Saeed Ajmal and took no time to rotate the strike to Hussey. Taking the matter into his own hands, he went on to smash two consecutive sixes against Ajmal, putting the pressure back on the Pakistani team. The fourth delivery came out to be the score levellers, as Hussey smashed a four. With just a run remaining to win, he finished the game with a six.
In this way, Hussey shattered the hopes of Pakistan’s team to reach another final. He won the Player of the Match award in this game, scoring 60 runs off just 24 deliveries with 3 fours and 6 sixes. Cameron White’s innings also played a beautiful anchor, setting the stage for Hussey to take over and finish the game.