The second semi-final of the World T20 Cup 2021 will be played between Australia and Pakistan on Thursday, the 11th of November. Pakistan has won all their matches in the tournament so far while Australia has lost one match in their Super 12 matches. Pakistan's balanced squad and aggressive bowling order has helped them top the group 2 points table. On the other hand, Australia had lost to England by 8 wickets and that defeat placed them on the second spot in the points table for the group 1. The match will be played at the Dubai International Stadium. The winner of today's match will take on New Zealand in the finals.
Australia
The five times world champions in the one day international have no title in the World T20 Cup. They were the runner up in the 2010 season of the championship, and would try to end the drought in this season. However, their opponent Pakistan has not lost a single T20 match on the UAE pitches so far, hence, it would be a little hard for the Aussies to register a win here at Dubai Stadium. Although Warner, one of their opening batsmen was struggling with his form, he has played a good innings in his last match and thankfully is in form ahead of their semi finals. Australia's leg break bowler Zampa is doing well, he is the second most wicket taker in the tournament and has been picket up consistent wickets in the middle overs.
Pakistan
The opening pair Babar and Rizwan has been going all guns blazing in the tournament and breaking the first wicket partnership would be tough for Australia. But if they manage to do so early in the innings, it would be a big feat for them. Pakistan has a good batting order in the likes of Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Rizwan, Hafeez and Malik. Moreover, their bowling order is indestructible. Shaheen's amazing form has the potential to take down good batsmen from the Australia's batting order.
Weather Report
The minimum and maximum temperatures at Dubai will be around 21 and 31 degrees, respectively. The humidity will be around 37 percent with no chances of rainfall.
Pitch Report
Dew will play an important role in today's match and opting for bowling. The new ball on the Dubai pitch helps the fast bowlers. With dew in effect, the teams will want to win the toss and bowl first. The toss has played a big role in the tournament. The score of 160-170 will be challenging on this pitch.
Probable Playing XI For Australia
David Warner, Aaron Finch (c), Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steven Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wk), Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
Probable Playing XI For Pakistan
Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Rizwan(c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf
Key Players
Australia:
David Warner
Adam Zampa
Pakistan:
Babar Azam
Shaheen Afridi
