Aus vs Pak: Tale of the tape
Pakistan and Australia face each other in the second semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2021 in Dubai tonight. It will be the fifth time the side from Down Under goes up against the Men in Green in the knockout stages of a cricket World Cup. The Aussies have triumphed in each of the prior four matches.
Ahead of their blockbuster encounter, here is the tale of the tape:
Pakistan
Top scorer at 2021 T20 World Cup: Babar Azam - 264
Top wicket taker at 2021 T20 World Cup: Haris Rauf - 8
Best two batsmen: Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan
Best two bowlers: Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf
X-factor: Asif Ali
Underperformers: Fakhar Zaman and Hasan Ali
Path to semi-final
bt India by 10 wicketsbt New Zealand by 5 wicketsbt Afghanistan by 5 wicketsbt Namibia by 45 runsbt Scotland by 72 runs
Australia
Top scorer at 2021 T20 World Cup: David Warner - 187
Top wicket taker at 2021 T20 World Cup: Adam Zampa - 11
Best two batsmen: Aaron Finch and David Warner
Best two bowlers: Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins
X-factor: Glenn Maxwell
Underperformer: Glenn Maxwell
Path to semi-final
bt South Africa by 5 wicketsbt Sri Lanka by 7 wicketslost to England by 8 wicketsbt Bangladesh by 8 wicketsbt West Indies by 8 wickets
T20s head-to-head
Pakistan wins: 13 (includes one win on super over after tie)
Australia wins: 9
No result: 1
First T20 International meeting
Johannesburg, September 18, 2007
Captain Shoaib Malik (52) and Misbah-ul Haq (66) put on a century partnership as Pakistan stunned Australia by six wickets in the first Twenty20 meeting between the two sides at the inaugural World Cup.
The pair put on 119 off 78 balls for the unbroken fifth wicket to help their team recover from 46-4 and surpass Australia's 164-7 with five balls to spare at the Wanderers.
It was Australia's first appearance at the historic venue since South Africa successfully chased their formidable 434 with one ball to spare in a one-day international in March, 2006.
Pakistan's success was set up by left-arm seamer Sohail Tanvir who claimed 3-31.
The Australian innings was marked by just one six from Michael Hussey, who top-scored with 37 off 25 balls.
Hussey and Brad Hodge put on 63 in 40 balls for the fifth wicket to boost the total after Australia were struggling at 92-4 in the 12th.
Last T20 International meeting
Perth, November 8, 2019
-- Australia routed Pakistan by 10 wickets with 49 balls to spare to clinch the series 2-0.