Forgotten man Shahid Afridi came back from the dead to dish out an allround show to put Pakistan in the final of the Twenty20 World Cup on Thursday. In the first semifinal at Trent Bridge, the Pakistan beat South Africa by seven runs and make the final of the World Cup for the second successive time.
Opener Jacques Kallis played a lone hand to score 64 off 54 balls but that was not enough as the Pakistani spinners tightened the screws on the South African batting line-up to defend a modest 149 with aplomb. Afridi followed up his 34-ball 51 with 2 for 16 in the four overs of leg-spin he bowled.
That meant the South Africans will have to live with the ‘chokers’ tag, having raced to the semifinals but never been able to get past it at world events.
Shahid Afridi turned back the clock to play the explosive innings he once was synonymous with. Promoted up the batting order, Afridi went bang, bang to hit a quickfire half-century that may well turn out to be the difference between the two sides. The right-hander was in his elements as he crashed eight boundaries in his 34-ball 51 after Pakistan had lost Shahzaib Hasan in the second over.
Pakistan began well, with Kamran Akmal going over the top twice to get eight runs off the first over bowled by Dale Steyn. Even as Wayne Parnell struck in the second over, having Hasan caught by Roelof van der Merwe at mid-on, Akmal kept the charge, spanking Parnell for two consecutive boundaries.
Akmal then lifted Steyn into the stands but the seamer responded very well by dismissing him next ball as the intended pull ballooned into the air for Albie Morkel to complete the catch at mid-on. After a flurry of excellent cricketing shots, Akmal played a rash one to get out.
South Africa put the brakes briefly between the sixth and the 10th over, at the end of which the Pakistan total read 68 for 2 but Afridi turned it right back on.
He was severe on off-spinner Johan Botha, hitting him for four consecutive boundaries to pick 18 runs off the 11th over to put the innings back on track.
A clever change in bowling by Smith proved fruitful. Afridi wanted to send off-spinner Jean Paul Duminy out of the ground but had to leave the playing area after A.B. de Villiers pouched the top edge at mid-on. That also ended his 67-run stand with Shoaib Malik (34). Pakistan 95 for 2 in 12.1 overs.
However, Pakistan slowed down things after that and failed to score a boundary after the fourth ball of the 15th over. They could collect just 29 runs in the last five overs even with seven wickets in hand.
Scoreboard:
Pakistan:
Kamran Akmal c Morkel b Steyn 23
Shahzaib Hasan c van der Merwe b Parnell 0
Shahid Afridi c de Villiers b Duminy 51
Shoaib Malik c Botha b van der Merwe 34
Younus Khan not out 24
Abdur Razzaq not out 12
Extras: (lb2, w3) 5
Total (for 4 wkts, 20 overs) 149
Fall of wickets: 1-8 (Shahzaib), 2-28 (Akmal), 3-95 (Afridi), 4-124 (Malik).
South Africa bowling: Steyn 4-0-28-1, Parnell 4-0-26-1 (w1), Kallis 2-0-14-0 (w1), Morkel 2-0-13-0 (w1), van der Merwe 4-0-29-1, Botha 2-0-23-0, Duminy 2-0-14-1
South Africa:
J. Kallis c Malik b Ajmal 64
G. Smith c and b Aamir 10
H. Gibbs b Afridi 5
AB de Villiers b Afridi 1
J.P. Duminy not out 44
A. Morkel run out 2
M. Boucher not out 0
Extras: (b4, lb11, w1) 16
Total (for 5 wkts, 20 overs) 142
Fall of wickets: 1-40 (Smith), 2-46 (Gibbs), 3-50 (de Villiers), 4-111 (Kallis), 5-134 (Morkel).
Pakstan bowling: Razzaq 3-0-19-0, Aamir 4-0-30-1, Afridi 4-0-16-2, Ajmal 4-0-23-1, Malik 1-0-5-0, Gul 3-0-19-0 (w1), Fawad 1-0-15-0
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