The catch that took Pakistan to the semi-finals, Sami Chaudhry's column

 The catch that took Pakistan to the semi-finals, Sami Chaudhry's column

Thirteen years ago, when Rolof van er Merwe was part of South Africa's World Cup squad, no one could have imagined that one day the same Rolof would be the one to knock South Africa out of the event in a World Cup knockout match. will become the key.This is not the first time this tragedy has happened to South Africa. In the 2015 World Cup, Grant Elliott of South African origin also unleashed similar anger on his countrymen. Despite all the distractions, the South African innings in this knock-out encounter here in Adelaide was in a position to cross the target with the aggression of the likes of David Miller.

But the catch made by Rolof van der Merwe proved to be the turning point of the match. As the ball hit the edge of Miller's bat and rose into the air, Rolfe started to run away from fine leg and made the near-impossible possible with his speed. This catch not only gave them their first victory against South Africa but also sealed the Dutch team's qualification for the upcoming World Cup. That catch was no less than an invisible support for Pakistan, which had pinned all its hopes on the system of nature.This catch broke all the if-but conditions for Pakistan and they only had to beat Shakib-ul-Hasan's team to reach the semi-finals. When the purpose became clear, then the determination of Pakistani bowling was also visible, which was already at the highest morale after the victory against South Africa.

This used Adelaide pitch was the most suitable surface for Shaheen Shah Afridi in terms of texture and bounce. Shaheen didn't have to manipulate much to succeed on this pitch and by focusing on the basics, he blew away the Bangladeshi batsmen.

The way Mohammad Haris made his debut against South Africa breathed new life into a depressed batting line-up and Pakistan gained momentum at just the right time in the tournament without the help of the Netherlands. went.Bangladesh's World Cup campaign has been their most successful in their history and the form of Shakib-ul-Hasan has played a key role in this. But not only the Pakistani bowling here, the batting was also determined to break Shakib Al Hasan and Shakib Al Hasan had to suffer the aggression of the Pakistani batting in the beginning, after that his bowling options also became limited.Adelaide is usually a slow bounce pitch but here as the pitch had been used a match before, the bounce was so low that it was difficult for any batsman to play a high shot. Mohammad Haris' innings was commendable as he adapted his innings to suit the conditions and eased the burden of the required run rate.

If the Bangladeshi batting could have shown a little more resistance in front of the Pakistani bowling, this target could have been more difficult, but when even this short collection started to unsettle the nerves of the Pakistani dressing room, the sophistication and wisdom of Shan Masood overcame the perfect experience. put

On the other hand, the Zimbabwean pacers could not live up to their recent popularity and were left behind for Surya Kumar Yadav. The confidence and fluidity with which Surya Kumar executes his will at the crease heralds a revolution for modern T20 batting. His form proved to be key for Sharma's team here as well and Ghiri put his team on edge in the middle overs.Craig Irwin's captaincy has been disappointing as well. The pacers were definitely not getting the support from the Melbourne pitch that had shocked everyone earlier in the tournament. It was a traditional Melbourne pitch where the environment favored the spinners and it was the spinners who brought Zimbabwe back into the match in the middle overs.

But Irwin's learned captaincy surprised everyone when he brought back the most expensive bowler of the day, Blessing Mazarbani, in the sixteenth over and made spin absolutely taboo in the death overs. However, the spinners could have paved the way for an upset by bringing Zimbabwe back into the match. At the start of the event, many eyes were on Pakistan and India. While Pakistan grabbed the headlines thanks to their sensational pace attack, Rohit Sharma's team was in the limelight due to the disastrous memories of the previous World Cup. But the progress of both the teams in the tournament has been impressive.This is the first break since the start of this sensational World Cup, where for two days fans will have a chance to catch their breath and have time to digest how Pakistan defied all odds to reach the semi-finals. I made my own place.