mobile app bar

“That catch might have made the difference”: Babar Azam states Hassan Ali drop catch proved costly as Australia win vs Pakistan in T20 World Cup semis

Gurpreet Singh
Published

"That catch might have made the difference": Babar Azam states Hassan Ali drop catch proved costly as Australia win vs Pakistan in T20 World Cup semis

Babar Azam states Hassan Ali drop catch might have made a difference in the end as Australia defeat Pakistan in T20 World Cup semis

Aaron Finch’s men from Australia have scripted history here at the Dubai International stadium as they defeat Pakistan by 5 Wickets, and have kept their record of not losing against them in a World Cup knock-out match intact.

While it was Jimmy Neesham’s cameo in the first semi-final yesterday for the Kiwis, it was Australia’s Matthew Wade who hogged the limelight in the climax today, with a 17-ball 41* to snatch victory from Pakistan’s lap.

With 62 runs needed of the final 5 Overs, and half-their side down- including an unfortunate David Warner dismissal, Australia had their backs against the wall.

But, an unbeaten 81* run partnership off 42 deliveries for the 6th wicket between Matthew Wade (41* off 17) and Marcus Stoinis (40* off 31) in a pressure situation meant that Australia went over the line with 6 balls to spare.

Babar Azam states Hassan Ali drop catch might have made a difference

With 20 runs needed off the final 10 deliveries in the contest, Hassan Ali dropped a running catch under pressure with Matthew Wade on strike. After the unfortunate slip-up, Wade took full advantage and tonked three back-to-back sixes off their strike bowler- Shaheen Afridi to seal the deal for Australia.

Babar Azam, post the match mentioned that had the catch been taken, the result could have been something else.

“If we had taken that catch, it might have made the difference. But the way we played this tournament, the way we gelled, I’m very satisfied as a captain. I hope we try and learn from our mistakes after this”, exclaimed a dejected Babar during the post match presentation.

Australia will now play the final match against New Zealand on November 14 at the same venue.

About the author

Gurpreet Singh

Gurpreet Singh

x-iconinstagram-iconlinkedin-icon

Gurpreet Singh is a Cricket writer at The Sportsrush. His platonic relationship with sports had always been there since childhood, but Cricket managed to strike a special, intimate nerve of his heart. Although his initial dream of playing the sport at the highest level couldn't come to fruition, Gurpreet did represent the state of Jharkhand at the under-14 level. However, almost like taking a pledge to never let the undying passion for Cricket fade away even a tad, he made sure to continue the love relationship by assigning the field of journalism as an indirect Cupid. He thus, first finished his bachelor's in journalism and then pursued the PG Diploma course in English journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC). Soon after and since 2019, he has been working at The Sportsrush. Apart from sports, he takes keen interest in politics, and in understanding women and gender-related issues.

Read more from Gurpreet Singh

Share this article