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ADELAIDE: Australia stand-in captain Matthew Wade hoped the slow start to their title defense at the T20 World Cup not come back to haunt them as their semi-final hopes hinge on the outcome of the England-Sri Lanka clash on Saturday.
Australia kept their slim hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive on Friday with a narrow four-run win over Afghanistan in their final Super 12 match, moving them up to second in the points table behind New Zealand.
England, currently in third place, will face Sri Lanka on Saturday, with a win securing a semi-final spot. Australia will qualify for the semi-finals if Sri Lanka emerge victorious against England.
“We’ll stay here tonight and watch the game tomorrow, we’ll hope for an upset. We’ve put ourselves in this position from the start, we’ve been slow in this tournament and hopefully it doesn’t cost us,” Wade on Friday during the presentation after the game said.
Australia subsequently survived a tremendous scare Rashid Khan conjured up hopes of an upset with a sensational 23-ball 48.
Need 22 from the last over bowled by Marcus StoinisRashid managed to hit the bowler for two fours and one six, but it wasn’t enough in the end.
“We gave Stoinis the last over, to have an all-rounder to bowl the last over is quite nerve wracking. I have played him in the IPL and I have seen him do it 3-4 times. But never felt completely confident at any point,” Wade said.
Chasing 169 to win, Afghanistan slumped from 99 for 2 to 99 for 5 in 13.4 overs.
Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi blamed the loss of key wickets in the middle overs for the defeat.
“Really good cricket, they started really well, at the end Farooqi bowled well. The way we started in the powerplay and in the middle, but we throw away those four wickets in the middle under pressure,” he said .
“It’s really hard to play a game and then not play for 10 days. We didn’t get any momentum through this tournament at all. Day by day we’re improving and today was a fantastic game for us.”
Glenn Maxwell, who was named the Player of the Match for his 32-ball 54, admitted that Rashid’s clean knock gave his team a scare.
“Afghanistan played very well, they hit the ball very cleanly. At the beginning they put us under pressure in the power play. We were able to hold them back, but then there was a nice clean strike to the back and we had a little given.of a fright.
“It was nice to have an impact in the field. I knew I wasn’t going to have much of an impact with the ball with the conditions they were. To have an impact is nice.”
Maxwell also praised the Afghan spinners for keeping things tight.
“During the day it was quite slow and it was turning a bit, it was holding a bit. It was quite difficult to press the issue. We got to about the 12th over where we just had to get a total on the board place to make sure we gave ourselves a chance to win the game.
“Even though we tried to go hard, they bowled very well in the last four overs. They executed their plans and it was difficult to get away.”
Australia kept their slim hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive on Friday with a narrow four-run win over Afghanistan in their final Super 12 match, moving them up to second in the points table behind New Zealand.
England, currently in third place, will face Sri Lanka on Saturday, with a win securing a semi-final spot. Australia will qualify for the semi-finals if Sri Lanka emerge victorious against England.
“We’ll stay here tonight and watch the game tomorrow, we’ll hope for an upset. We’ve put ourselves in this position from the start, we’ve been slow in this tournament and hopefully it doesn’t cost us,” Wade on Friday during the presentation after the game said.
Australia subsequently survived a tremendous scare Rashid Khan conjured up hopes of an upset with a sensational 23-ball 48.
Need 22 from the last over bowled by Marcus StoinisRashid managed to hit the bowler for two fours and one six, but it wasn’t enough in the end.
“We gave Stoinis the last over, to have an all-rounder to bowl the last over is quite nerve wracking. I have played him in the IPL and I have seen him do it 3-4 times. But never felt completely confident at any point,” Wade said.
Chasing 169 to win, Afghanistan slumped from 99 for 2 to 99 for 5 in 13.4 overs.
Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi blamed the loss of key wickets in the middle overs for the defeat.
“Really good cricket, they started really well, at the end Farooqi bowled well. The way we started in the powerplay and in the middle, but we throw away those four wickets in the middle under pressure,” he said .
“It’s really hard to play a game and then not play for 10 days. We didn’t get any momentum through this tournament at all. Day by day we’re improving and today was a fantastic game for us.”
Glenn Maxwell, who was named the Player of the Match for his 32-ball 54, admitted that Rashid’s clean knock gave his team a scare.
“Afghanistan played very well, they hit the ball very cleanly. At the beginning they put us under pressure in the power play. We were able to hold them back, but then there was a nice clean strike to the back and we had a little given.of a fright.
“It was nice to have an impact in the field. I knew I wasn’t going to have much of an impact with the ball with the conditions they were. To have an impact is nice.”
Maxwell also praised the Afghan spinners for keeping things tight.
“During the day it was quite slow and it was turning a bit, it was holding a bit. It was quite difficult to press the issue. We got to about the 12th over where we just had to get a total on the board place to make sure we gave ourselves a chance to win the game.
“Even though we tried to go hard, they bowled very well in the last four overs. They executed their plans and it was difficult to get away.”
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