Babar Azam said that Matthew Wade’s dropped catch was the turning point in the T20 World Cup semi-finals between Pakistan and Australia at the Dubai International Stadium on Thursday. The Kangaroos defeated Pakistan by five wickets and will now play New Zealand in the final on Sunday. 

Australia were chasing 177 runs for victory. They needed 22 runs off the last 12 balls. On the third ball of the 19th over, Pakistan’s Hasan Ali dropped Matthew Wade off Shaheen Afridi’s bowling. The Aussie wicketkeeper then hit three consecutive sixes to seal the game. Aaron Finch and company chased the target with one over to spare. 

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“I thought we scored as many runs as we had planned in the first innings. I think if we give such teams a chance in the back end, it is going to be costly. The turning point was that dropped catch. Had we taken it, the scenario could have been different,” Babar Azam said after the game. 

Pakistan’s campaign in the T20 World Cup witnessed the Asian team win all their games in the Super 12 stage. 

“The way we gelled and played the entire tournament, I am satisfied as a captain. Hopefully we’ll learn from this for the next tournament. When you play so well throughout, there were small mistakes that cost us the match in the end. We gave players roles and they executed it really well. The way the crowds supported us, we enjoyed a lot as a team. We always enjoy playing here,” Babar added. 

Sent into bat, Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman smashed quick fifties as Pakistan posted a challenging 176 for four. Opening the innings, Rizwan scored 67 off 52 balls during which he hit three boundaries and four sixes, while Zaman remained unbeaten on 55 off 32 balls with the help of three fours and four sixes.

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Together with skipper Babar Azam (39), Rizwan shared 71 runs for the opening stand before stitching 72 runs with Zaman.

For Australia, Mitchell Starc picked up two wickets for 38 runs.

Chasing, David Warner made 49, while Matthew Wade smashed a 17-ball unbeaten 41 and Marcus Stoinis was not out on 40 off 31 deliveries as Australia overhauled the target with an over to spare.

Shadab Khan was the best bowler for Pakistan with figures of 4 for 26.