Win the toss and bat first - Aaron Finch called it right,
but this New England relish more on making things happen rather than depending
on the toss and conditions.
Within first half-an-hour of the match, the English pacers
set jitters in Australia's batting line-up. For Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes,
the matter was not only about pace but dragging back the length more often.
Their correct use of length accounted for the wickets of Aaron Finch and David
Warner. When Peter Handscomb departed, Australia were in a mess.
But Australia being Australia - Steve Smith and Alex Carey
stood up and reminding all of us of what Steve Waugh and Michael Bevan did in
that historic semi-final on the same venue in 1999. A partnership started to
flourish and that belief started to crop up - Australia would pull this one off
and of course, they are an invincible species in World Cup semi-finals.
One of the most special things about this New England have
been over the last four years, they know, how to pick wickets during crucial
stages of the match. They have invested faith in bowlers like Adil Rashid,
Moeen Ali and Liam Plunkett to strike gold in middle overs and during crucial
moments.
It was Adil Rashid, who stepped up, yet again, to bring
England back into the match.
At first, he removed Carey to halt the
dangerous-looking-partnership and then Marcus Stoinis was outclassed by a
similar kind of a googly, which Mushtaq Ahmed Bowled to Graeme Hick at MCG
during the final of World Cup 1992. My word, England have a legspinner now.
Neither is he Ian Salsbury nor Joe Denly, but he is Rashid, Adil Rashid - who
have given this English attack a new dimension.
Rashid's breakthroughs simply ended Australia's hopes of a
competitive total.
England just needed to keep calm and play their natural game
to register a place in the finals.
Even though England might have done adventurous things with
the bat in the past, but in the first 3 to 5 overs, power-hitters like Jason
Roy and Jonny Bairstow exhibited resolve, but they had no intention to make the
weather heavy. As soon as they settled own, it turned out to be an exhibition
match.
Australia's unbeaten run in World Cup semi-finals came to an
end.
England's bowling was the factor for which they were able to
outweigh Australia. Archer and Woakes' opening spell proved lethal, but for me,
Adil Rashid was the real hero yesterday. He was given the task during a moment
when the match was slipping out of England's grip. But his legspin-bowling
derailed Australia. Had the Smith-Carey partnership prolonged a bit longer, the
story could have been different as well know, what Australia can do!
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
No comments:
Post a Comment