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Semi-finals of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup: Australia v Pakistan Date: 11/11/00 GMT. Coverage: Live Test Match Special Radio and Text Commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra. Live text commentary, highlights and clips on BBC Sport's website and app.
Australia will face unbeaten Pakistan in the semifinal in Dubai on Thursday to continue their quest for the Men's T20 World Cup trophy.
Aaron Finch's team was not one of the favorites going into the tournament. However, they won four out of five Super 12 matches to qualify them for the final four.
Pakistan began their campaign by defeating India with 10-wickets. They have been growing in strength ever since.
Aaron Finch, Australia captain, stated that "About 10 Days ago our team wasn't too old and now it is an experienced team."
"If you take a look at the last series, you will see that everyone has written us off by now. You can then read into that whatever you wish."
The winner will be facing New Zealand or England, who will meet in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday for Sunday's final.
Australia has won the 50-over World Cup five years in a row and the Champions Trophy twice twice. However, their best performance in the T20 World Cup was as runners-up to England 2010 in 2010.
In the lead-up to this tournament they lost five T20 series in succession, including one against Bangladesh, which saw them score 62, their lowest T20 score.
Their only loss came in the group stages against an aggressive England. They ended their qualification campaign with an 8-wicket defeat of West Indies.
Finch stated, "It would be a great honor to win it, but there is still a semi-final against an extremely, very good, and in-form Pakistan,"
"That will really put us to the test and show us where we stand in the world."
Ex-Australia team-mates meet up as coaches
Justin Langer, Australia's coach, will face Matthew Hayden (Pakistan's former opening partner).
They combined for 5,655 runs in 113 Tests, which was the highest number of runs scored by Australia's top order between 2001-2007.
Hayden stated, "I was a warrior player for Australian cricket over twenty-five years, so that does give you the benefit of wonderful insights into these players as well as the culture of cricket"
"This is the only trophy it has ever received in the trophy cabinet."
Pakistan were undoubtedly the most impressive team to reach the semi-finals.
Captain Babar Azam is currently the tournament's top run-scorer, scoring 264 runs. Shaheen Shah Afridi impresses with his raw pace and takes six wickets at 22.33 each.
Analyse
Test Match Special's Aatif Nawaz
Pakistan came into this game having won five of the five previous games. I doubt even the most optimistic Pakistani cricket fan could have predicted that.
Are they going to win the tournament or is it just another day?
It does feel like they have a strong team from Pakistan and are likely marginal favourites to win against Australia.
There will be many haunting memories of the 2010 World Cup, when Pakistan lost to Australia in semi-final. It was a tournament that seemed very dominant.
Australia may be at its peak, but this Pakistan team might be too far. Pakistani fans will be optimistic.
