‘It was a great game of cricket’

Matthew Wade smacked three sixes in a row to clinch a see-saw chase as Australia beat Pakistan by five wickets in a dramatic game on Thursday to reach the Twenty20 World Cup final.

Chasing 177 for victory, Australia needed 22 runs from the last two overs and Wade got a reprieve when Hasan Ali dropped him off Shaheen Afridi in the penultimate one.

Wade sent the next three balls from Afridi soaring over the ropes and Australia reached their target with one over to spare.

"It was a great game of cricket," Australia captain Aaron Finch said after his team booked a place in Sunday's final against New Zealand and stayed on course to win the only major global trophy that has eluded them.

"Talking to Marcus Stoinis at the other end, we discussed what the bowlers were looking to do. [Shaheen] probably bowled more pace-on than I expected. When I got out there with Marcus, he was really confident we'd get them, even though I was a little unsure. He found the boundaries early on, and I was happy to chip in at the end. It got down to two a ball, and from there it was if you got one in your arc, just try to hit it. Probably hasn't sunk in, I've just finished batting. I'm just happy to contribute. I was out of the team for a while, just happy I got an opportunity again."

Matthew Wade

"The way Matthew Wade held his nerve was outstanding, that partnership with Marcus Stoinis was crucial." Wade's 41 not out from 17 balls included four sixes and Stoinis finished unbeaten on 40. "I just got my feet in a tangle first up. It happens, in T20 cricket you get some good ones every now and then. I thought we were pretty sloppy today, we dropped a couple, though they were tough ones. But what we showed today was that you need all your players, everyone in your 15 to contribute," said Finch.

"[On chasing teams winning so many games] It's really strange. There's no dew, but the lights take effect and the wicket speeds up a bit. I was hoping to lose the toss and put a total on the board and defend it, but it was good to chase that target down in the end," he added.

Australia suffered an early blow when Shaheen trapped Finch lbw for nought as the Pakistan-dominated crowd erupted.

The in-form Warner kept up the attack from one end with support from Mitchell Marsh.

But Shadab Khan turned up the heat in the seventh over to get Marsh out for 28.

The leg-spinner struck in each of his four overs to claim the big wickets of Steve Smith, for five, Warner, and Glenn Maxwell, for seven as Australia lost half their side for 96.

Warner walked when he was caught behind after hitting three fours and three sixes in his 30-ball stay but replays later showed there was no contact off the batsman's bat. Stoinis and Wade steered the team to their second T20 World Cup semi-final and dream of a maiden title. Earlier, Rizwan's opening stand of 71 with skipper Babar Azam, who made 39, unsettled the Australian bowling in the first six overs of powerplay.

Leg-spinner Adam Zampa broke the opening stand after sending back Babar, who has amassed 303 runs to lead the tournament's batting chart, caught at long-on following his 34-ball knock laced with five fours. Rizwan kept up the attack and smashed Zampa for a six to become the first player to aggregate 1,000 runs in T20 internationals in a calendar year.

He survived a hit on the helmet grill by a quick bouncer from Pat Cummins as the physio came in to conduct a concussion test with the batsman smiling. Rizwan finally fell to Mitchell Starc while trying to force the pace and was caught at mid-off. Zaman finished off the innings with two sixes in the final over from Starc who took two wickets.