Team news, likely XIs, form guide, players to watch, odds, TV and streaming information, weather forecast, umpire appointments and everything else you need to know
Australia take on Pakistan in the second semi-final of the T20 World Cup.
The game is scheduled for 6pm local time (2pm BST) on Thursday, November 11, 2021.
The game will be held at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai.
Dubai International Stadium: Ground guide
Heading into the semi-finals, Pakistan are the only side with a 100 per cent winning record from the Super 12s. Babar Azam's side defeated India (10 wickets), New Zealand (five wickets), Afghanistan (five wickets), Namibia (45 runs) and Scotland (72 runs) to top Group Two with maximum points. Pakistan have now won 14 of their 19 completed T20Is in 2021.
Australia, meanwhile, started their campaign with back-to-back victories over South Africa and Sri Lanka before coming unstuck against England. However, Aaron Finch's team bounced back with wins against Bangladesh and West Indies to qualify for the last four on net run rate. Australia finished second in Group One.
Pakistan have the edge in the head-to-head record, winning 12 of the 23 encounters between these two sides. However, when they last met in November 2019, Australia won the three-match series 2-0.
Dafabet have installed Pakistan as the favourites for this match, offering odds of 4/5 in favour of Babar Azam's side. Australia are at evens.
Azam is also the favourite to top-score for his side, with odds of 21/10, while Aaron Finch and David Warner are both at 3/1 to top-score for Australia.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has failed to score a half-century in just one of his past five innings and Australia will be keen to send him back to the dressing room as soon as possible. Unfortunately, Pakistan have immense batting depth, with Mohammad Rizwan, Asif Ali, and Mohammad Hafeez among those to show impressive form in the UAE. However, it was Shoaib Malik who was the star against Scotland, with the 39-year-old rolling back the years to score an 18-ball 54 at the death. If he's needed, Malik, who is ranked 15th on the T20 Player Index, can be expected to bring fireworks.
With the ball, all eyes will be on Shaheen Shah Afridi and whether he can replicate his performance against India and decimate Australia's top order.
For Australia, David Warner has made a welcome return to form, with two half-centuries in the Super 12, including a score of 89 not out against West Indies in his most recent outing. With a strike rate of 144.96 and confidence anew, his battle against Pakistan's speedsters should prove exciting.
Adam Zampa has been Australia's standout bowler, taking 11 wickets and posting an economy of 5.73 - the best of any Australian player to bowl more than four overs.
Pakistan have used just 11 players in the tournament to date and are unlikely to alter their winning formula.
Australia tinkered with their XI against England in their third match, swapping Mitch Marsh for bowler Ashton Agar. However, that decision didn't pay off and Marsh scored a half-century in his most recent outing against West Indies. Expect Australia to also go unchanged.
The following umpires and match referees have been named by the ICC to officiate in the T20 World Cup 2021:
Referees: David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Ranjan Madugalle, Javagal Srinath
Umpires: Chris Brown, Aleem Dar, Kumar Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nitin Menon, Ahsan Raza, Paul Reiffel, Langton Rusere, Rod Tucker, Joel Wilson, Paul Wilson
The following officials have been allocated to this fixture:
On-field umpires: Kettleborough, Gaffaney
TV umpire: Wilson
Fourth umpire: Illingworth
Referee: Crowe
Full T20 World Cup officials appointments: Click here
The temperature will be hovering around 28 degrees Celsius at the start of play.
Follow the Met Office forecast here.
Yes, though Covid protocols including the wearing of face masks will be in place.
Click here to visit the ICC's ticketing site.
Pakistan are the side to beat and should be too strong for Australia, particularly if they can break their top four early on.
T20 WORLD CUP TEAM GUIDES
Sky Sports Cricket (Sky 404, Talk Talk 404, BT TV 423, Virgin 504) will broadcast the series in the United Kingdom, with the content available online via its streaming platform Sky Go.
BBC Radio Five Live Sports Extra will have live ball-by-ball radio commentary of all tournament matches, accessible through the BBC Sport website, BBC Sounds or DAB radio.
The Star Sports network is showing the tournament in India. Matches can be streamed via Disney+ Hotstar
Other broadcasters by territory:
Australia - Fox Sports, Channel 9, Kayo Sports
New Zealand – Sky Sport New Zealand
Pakistan - PTV Sports, Ten Sports
Bangladesh - Ghazi Tv (GTV)
Sri Lanka – SLRC (Channel Eye)
South Africa – SuperSport
Caribbean – ESPN
Middle East and North Africa – eLife TV, StarzPlay, Switch TV
USA – ESPN+
Singapore - Star Cricket, Star Hub and Singtel
Malaysia - Fox International Channels
Hong Kong - Star Cricket
Australia: Aaron Finch (c), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins (vc), Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade (wk), David Warner, Adam Zampa
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Fakhar Zaman
Australia: David Warner, Aaron Finch, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazelwood
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi
T20 World Cup Hub: News, features, stats, live scores
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