Pakistan relied on Shahid Afridi's brilliant all-round show to stun favourites South Africa by seven runs in their semifinal match of the Twenty20 World Cup. Afridi first hit a 34-ball 51,his maiden Twenty20 half century to prop up Pakistan to 149 for 4 after electing to bat and then took two key wickets - AB de Villiers and Herschelle Gibbs - for 16 to guide his side to second successive final in the showpiece event. Chasing 150 at a slow Trent Bridge pitch,South Africa choked again at the big stage after a brilliant run in the tournament,managing just 142 for five. Veteran Jacques Kallis,who became the highest run getter of the tournament in this match,waged a lone battle with a 54-ball 64 but with little support from his other colleagues,South Africa fell short of the target. The loss meant South Africa miss out a World Cup final yet against besides snapping their seven-match unbeaten streak in Twenty20 Internationals. Pakistan,runners-up in the inaugural edition,were not a consistent side in the tournament but came up with their best against South Africa. South Africa did not great start in their run chase. Captain Graeme Smith,who was let off by Umar Gul when on 10,fell at the same score in the sixth over with young Mohammad Aamer taking the prized wicket. One-down Gibbs sent an Afridi delivery to the boundary as soon as he came in only to be bowled by the same bowler for five as South Africa slumped to 46/2 at the seventh over. Two overs later,Afridi cramped in-form de Villiers (1) for space for the South African to drag a ball onto his stumps. With the run rate climbing to 11 at the end of 13th over,it was an uphill task for South Africa. Their misery was compounded by the introduction of seamer Umar Gul,the tournament's leading wicket taker,who bowled an accurate line and length. Kallis hit a four and a six off Fawad Alam in the 15th over to keep the run chase on but the asking rate keep on climbing. With 52 needing from the last five overs and 39 from the last three,pressure kept on piling and Kallis fell while slogging Saeed Ajmal in the 18th over,and by then it was all over. Albie Morkel (2) was run out,and it was too much of an ask for JP Duminy (44 not out) and Mark Boucher (16 not out) to reach the target. Gul (1/23) and Mohammad Aamer (1/30) were the other wicket takers for Pakistan. Earlier,electing to bat on a dry Trent Bridge pitch,Pakistan recovered from early setback of losing two wickets inside the third over through Afridi and Shoaib Malik (34 off 39 balls) but lost way at the death to end at 149 for four. Afridi,whose 34-ball blitzkrieg included eight fours,and Malik repaired the Pakistan innings by sharing a 67-run stand for the third wicket from 58 balls only to see it go waste at the final overs. Younis' (24 not out) decision to bat first also seemed to have backfired as Pakistan lost their first two wickets inside the third over at 28. Young opener Shahzaib Hasan did not trouble the scorers by returning to the dug out for a duck in the second over bowled by Wayne Parnell. His opening partner Kamran Akmal (23 off 12 balls) though was in his aggressive best hitting two fours off the opening over bowled by Dale Steyn and another couple off boundaries off Parnell. The Pakistani wicketkeeper batsman hit a stunning six off Steyn but was out next ball trying another big shot off the same bowler. Pakistan were reasonably well-placed at 47 for two after the sixth over but the ran rate slowed down with the operation of slow bowlers as they reached 68 for two at the half-way mark. Afridi then started his blitzkrieg and hit four fours in a row off Johan Botha who conceded 18 runs in the 11th over. Just as Afridi reached his fifty off 32 balls,he was out to a smart change of bowling by Graeme Smith as JP Duminy removed him. South Africa though bowled brilliantly at the death conceding just 29 runs from the last five overs to restrict Pakistan to below 150 mark. Parnell,Steyn,Roelof van der Merwe and Duminy took a wicket apiece.
