World T20 preview: Pak need a big win against Oz to move into semis

Colombo: Annihilated by India in their second Super Eight match, an inconsistent Pakistan face a do-or-die situation and need nothing less than a big win when they take on a rampaging Australia in the World Twenty20 today.Pakistan will have to pick up the pieces from their all-round failure against arch-rivals India and come up with an inspired performance against the unbeaten Australian side, which is assured of a semifinal berth.One more defeat will ensure Pakistan's exit from the tournament if India manage to beat South Africa later in the evening. Pakistan, who have a win and a loss in Group 2, have to clinch it against Australia if they wish to make it to the semifinals.The fight for the second semifinal slot from Group 2 is indeed intriguingly poised as both India and Pakistan have a fair chance of making the cut with the Aussies enjoying a healthy run-rate of +1.712.In case Pakistan (-0.426), who are shade ahead of India (-0.452) in terms of net run-rate happen to win against Australia, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men will then have to win comprehensively against the South Africans in order to make it to the last four.[caption id="attachment_476262" align="alignleft" width="380"] Pakistan need a big win against Australia today. Getty Images[/caption]If Mohammad Hafeez's men lose today, then everything will boil down to the clash between India and SA.A win against the Proteas will be good enough for India tomarch into the last-four stage. Even in case of a defeat, India should ensure that they don't lose by a big margin.South Africa have lost both their matches — a close defeat against Pakistan and a comprehensive one against Australia.Even if they win, it would be unlikely for the A B de Villiers' side to seal the semifinal berth due to their low run-rate (-0.605) at this stage of the tournament.The George Bailey-led Australian side is on a roll in this tournament with an all-win record in the tournament so far. The Aussies had an eight-wicket win over South Africa in the last match which must have done a world of good to their morale.Pakistan, on the other hand, will have to re-group themselves after being shot out for a mere 128 runs against India. Their bowlers also came a cropper, thrashed by the Virat Kohli-inspired Indian batting line-up.Australia are the in-form side of the tournament with the top-order batsmen in roaring form. The main worry for Pakistan will be Australian openers Shane Watson and David Warner, who have become the most successful pair in the T20 Internationals.Against South Africa, Watson single-handedly guided the team to victory with a brutal 47-ball 70 and 2/29 while bowling. Such has been the terror of the marauding all-rounder that Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore joked that his team will either have to poison Watson's food or hope that he has a bad day in office against them.Watson has so far collected four man of the match trophies and has scored 234 runs in the tournament. His bowling has also fetched him 10 wickets. Veteran Mike Hussey has also done his bit at one down and came good against the Proteas with a 37-ball 45.Though fast bowlers, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, went wicketless in the last game but produced pace and bounce on a slowish Premadasa strip against the Indians. Left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty picked up three wickets for 20 runs in his economical spell against the South Africans. Brad Hogg has also taken two wickets from the three matches he has played so far and without being expensive. Both can be handful if the pitch assists slow bowlers.If there is any cause of worry for the Australians, it could be their middle order batsmen as they have not been tested in the tournament.On the other hand, Pakistan looked completely out of sorts against India. On their day, the likes of Imran Nazir, Nasir Jamshed and Mohammad Hafeez can take any bowling side to the cleaners but they wilted under pressure against India.Pakistan's front-line bowlers, Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi and Yasir Arafat, also failed to make any impression against a solid Indian line-up.Another problem for Pakistan has been Afridi's sharp dip in form with the bat. A lot will also depend on Pakistan's most talented young batsman Umar Akmal, who on his day can take apart any bowling attack in the world.TeamsPakistan: Mohammad Hafeez (capt.), Imran Nazir, Kamran Akmal (wk), Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Nasir Jamshed, Saeed Ajmal, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Yasir Arafat, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Sami, Asad Shafiq, Raza Hasan.Australia: George Bailey (capt), Dan Christian, Pat Cummins, Xavier Doherty, Ben Hilfenhaus, Brad Hogg, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Glenn Maxwell, Clint McKay, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Shane Watson, Cameron White.Match starts at 3.30 pm (IST).