By the end even Ricky Ponting was chewing his nails as Pakistan fought back and muddled the plot. Australia had to win to make sure of entering the semi-finals. On a sluggish pitch, their fast bowlers restricted Pakistan to a modest 205. Tim Paine and Shane Watson rushed off the blocks before Ponting, in the company of a confident Michael Hussey, the only batsman to record a half-century in the match, put Australia in a winning position.
Then Ponting was pouched spectacularly by Shoaib Malik in the deep and Pakistan sniffed an opportunity. When the final ten overs started, Australia needed 36. Rana Naved-ul-Hasan bowled a match-turning late spell, first uprooting Hussey's stumps with a penetrating yorker, and he followed that with two maidens. Mohammad Asif, playing his first match in almost two years, showed he could still toy with batsmen outside the off stump - James Hopes and Cameron White may still be working out how Asif got the better of them in one over. And Umar Gul, who had not bowled after the 15th over of innings, returned to shoot the yorkers in like an expert marksman.
The climax was reserved for the final over: Australia needed five runs. Gul returned to bowl suffocating lengths to Brett Lee and Nathan Hauritz. One run was needed from the final ball. Gul pitched it full and wide. Hauritz missed. Lee charged for the bye. Kamran Akmal picked up the ball for an underam throw. He missed. Lee dived. And Australia gained a berth in the semi-finals, edging out India.
No comments:
Post a Comment