Pakistan entered the Over-60s World Cup final in Brisbane on Monday after shocking hot favorites Australia in a last over, last wicket thriller.
When chasing a challenging total of 216, Pakistan appeared to be cruising to victory at one time, sitting at 89/1 in the 18th over and then 161-3 in the 33rd over. However, Pakistan was forced to concede 9 runs with 18 runs still needing to be scored and less than 5 overs left due to a mix of bad luck and accurate Australian bowling. But last man Yaqoob not only helped the limping but tenacious Tahir Rasheed, but he also scored the winning boundary with just two balls left, sending the Pakistanis into a frenzy as they all ran onto the field. Cheers of “Pakistan Zindabad” then filled the air at the magnificent John Blanck Oval.
Earlier, Pakistan won the toss and chose to field, reasoning that they could better the opposition’s chasing. Captain Fawad made this decision. After Australia lost their first wicket for 30 runs, Peter Jensen and Eric Higgins put on a staggering 134-run partnership for the second wicket. Peter Jensen’s 91 runs were a significant contribution. Eric Higgins’ 71-inning performance was excellent. Australia’s innings ended with a score of 216–6. Muhammad Ashraf Pakhali continued to be Pakistan’s best bowler with three wickets.
As the opener Muhammad Aslam played spectacular innings of 63 runs off just 68 balls, Pakistan’s chase got off to a strong start. The Men in Green continued to march fluently till they had 55 runs remaining after cameos from Muhammad Ashraf (28) and Syed Ghaffar (30). A quick run of wickets then reduced the Pakistani innings from 161-3 to 198-9. Mark Trafford-Walker and Peter Judd are the captains of the Australian comeback, each having two wickets.
Muhammad Yaqoob, who smashed a critical four when Pakistan needed four runs off the final three balls, continued to challenge wicketkeeper-batsman Tahir Rashid despite this. Tahir Rasheed was still unbeaten with a score of 41 from 62 balls.
The “player of the match” honor went to Muhammad Aslam. The Pakistan Over 60s team will play New Zealand in the championship game on September 14. By a margin of three wickets, the Kiwis defeated Canada in the second semifinal. Wales defeated the USA by an 8-wicket margin in one of today’s other positional matches. By a score of seven wickets, South Africa defeated Zimbabwe. The team from India continued to dominate the group from the Rest of the World.
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