Pakistan In, India Out of the T20 Semis

Call it sheer luck. Or unexpected reward for the final desperate bid to stay. The bottom line is that defending champions Pakistan have squeaked through to the semifinals after defeating South Africa in the T20 Super 8 group E match at the Caribbean island of St. Lucia yesterday.



Earlier loss to New Zealand by a single run on the last ball of the Super 8 match may have helped Pakistan in achieving a better net run rate than New Zealand overall. But what finally did it was the expected defeat of the Kiwis at the hands of the English team. If the Kiwis had won against England and collected two points, Pakistan would have been packing up to return home today. Australia and England, both unbeaten so far, remain at top the groups E and F.

India were knocked out of the semis today after losing to the Sri Lankan team in a thrilling contest which the Lankans won by a massive six hit by CK Kapugedera on the last ball of the match. The Indians put up a brave fight but it was just not enough to go through to the semifinals this year. Sri Lankans now move on to the semis after the host team West Indies lost to Australia in the final group F match.

Pakistan made a bad start against Proteas with their top batting order falling quickly, but Umar Akmal's brilliant knock of 51 runs with four sixes helped them in putting up a respectable total of 148 runs for 7. Umar was well supported by his brother Kamran and skipper Afridi who batted well against spin bowlers in building up the score in the second half of Pakistan's innings. Pakistan's superior spin bowling attack and much improved fielding allowed them to defend a fairly unimpressive total by dismissing South Africa 11 runs short at 137 for 7 in 20 overs.

Pakistanis will now face the formidable Aussies in the first T20 semifinal on Friday. Australian appear to be the favorites to snatch the title from defending champions Pakistan. Being one of the most talented but unpredictable sides, it is quite possible that Pakistanis will succeed in retaining the T20 world championship.

Here are the video highlights of Pakistan-South Africa Group E match:



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Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzak and Kamran Akmal do the trick! Great Boost for Pakistani nation in difficult times!!

Terrific bowling by Razzak, Umar, Afridi and Amir restricted SL to 138/6, followed by great innings by Afridi, Akmal, Malik to achieve well deserved win after good, hard hard work.

Particularly impressive was the way Pakistani bowlers shook up Sri Lanka's batting order with early quick wickets, particularly dismissing dangerous Dilshan in the first over. Then Pakistan's batsmen played comfortably against Sri Lanka's powerful bowling attack, losing only two wickets to score 139 runs in 18.4 overs.

Pakistan's rise from underdogs to champions is an extraordinary display for a team that had to beat Netherlands by a huge margin to even stay in the event during the group stages. However, Pakistanis have peaked at the right time and couldn't have produced a more complete performance for a final. Pakistan fell five runs short two years ago at Johannesburg when they lost to India, but this time there was no mistake.

While this win is not likely to bring international cricket to Pakistan's soil any time soon, it will still provide great encouragement to budding cricket talent in Pakistan to pursue their dreams. It will also be a great morale booster for a nation under siege from the ongoing insurgency in the north west and its devastating effects in the major cities and towns.

Final Score Pakistan 139/2 in 18.4 overs.
Sri Lanka 138/6 in 20 overs.

Here's a video clip showing Pakistan's devastating bowling attack:



Here's a video clip of Pakistan's batting start:



Here's the grand finale by Afridi:



Here's a video clip of the celebration in Islamabad:



Here's a video commentary from India analyzing Pakistan's T20 Win: