Skipper Faheem Ashraf’s all-round brilliance powered Pakistan to beat Australia and qualify for the Hong Kong Super Sixes final, scheduled to be played later today here at Mission Road Ground.
Put into bat first, Australia notched a commendable total of 107/1 in the allotted six overs.
Opening batters Sam Heazlett and Jack Wood gave Australia a steady start by putting together a dominant 56-run partnership.
The duo appeared to have settled down until Faheem breached Wood’s defence and cleaned him up in the fourth over.
Wood struck four fours and two sixes on his way to a 17-ball 36.
Coming out to bat at No.3, Dan Christian took no time to settle down and went after the Pakistan bowlers. He smashed a quickfire 42 off just 10 balls and remained the top-scorer for Australia, while skipper Heazlett remained unbeaten on a nine-ball 26.
For Pakistan, skipper Faheem claimed the solitary wicket.
Set to chase 108, Pakistan knocked the winning runs on the penultimate delivery when Faheem hit Christian for a match-sealing four.
Earlier, in-form openers once again provided Pakistan with a flamboyant start as they put together 40 runs in just nine deliveries.
Asif Ali, who was the core aggressor of the opening stand, perished on the fifth delivery of the second over after scoring a swashbuckling 32 off just eight deliveries. His knock featured five sixes.
Muhammad Akhlaq made sure to keep the momentum in Pakistan’s favour as he kept up the pace until his dismissal in the fourth over. He scored 32 off 10 balls, hitting three fours and as many sixes in the process.
Faheem Ashraf was then joined by all-rounder Aamer Yamin and together they knitted a match-winning 38-run partnership which took Pakistan over the line with a ball to spare.
Faheem scored an unbeaten 19 from nine balls, while Yamin made 24 not out off just eight deliveries.
For the unversed, Pakistan will face either Sri Lanka or Bangladesh in the Hong Kong Super Sixes final, scheduled to commence later today at 1:45 PM Pakistan Standard Time (PST).