Former Pakistani skipper and currently the Prime Minister of the country applauded the players after a heart-breaking defeat against Australia in the semi-finals of the ICC T20 World 2021 on Thursday.
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Babar Azam led Pakistan locked horns with Aaron Finch’s Australia to play the second semi-final match of the tournament at the Dubai International Stadium.
Pakistan had a dream start to the tournament by winning all the five games of the Super 12 stage. But their dreams of winning the tournament were shattered by the Aussies. The Men in Green suffered their first loss of the tournament after coming all the way through the SF of the marquee event. The match was fully in the control of the Men in Green until Marcos Stoinis and Matthew Wade changed the game completely for them.
PM Imran Khan applauded the team for their efforts. Imran Khan who has previously led Pakistan to their maiden World Cup title in 1992 sympathized with the team and said he can understand what the players are going through right now. He added that he has once gone through the same feeling in his cricketing days. Khan said that the team should be proud of the way they played and the efforts they put in to win the tournament.
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“To Babar Azam & the team: I know exactly how all of you are feeling right now because I have faced similar disappointments on the cricket field. But you should all be proud of the quality of cricket you played & the humility you showed in your wins. Congratulations Team Australia,” Imran Khan tweeted.
After being put to bat first, Pakistan imposed a target of 176/4 in front of the Aussies. Mohammad Rizwan played a brilliant 67 run knock while Fakhar Zaman scored an unbeaten 55 runs to help reach his team to this total.
Defending the total, Shaheen Afridi got Pakistan to a dream start by removing skipper Aaron Finch in the very first delivery he faced. But David Warner had put up a good show as he managed to score 49 before being dismissed by Shadab Khan.
Pakistan were in a winning position by taking 5 wickets for 96 runs. But Marcos Stoinis and Matthew Wade changed the complexity of the game. Hasan Ali drop catch costed Pakistan the match as Wade smashed three consecutive sixes in the 19th over and booked Australia ticket to the finals of the tournament.
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