ICC World Twenty20 semi-final, 14 MayVenue: St LuciaCoverage: Live commentary on BBC 5 live sports extra plus live text commentary and reports on the BBC Sport website & mobiles
Australia will look to set up a World Twenty20 final against old rivals England by ending Pakistan’s reign in Friday’s semi-final in St Lucia.
The Australians were unseeded for the event but Michael Clarke’s side have won all five of their matches in style.
They will go into the match with added confidence having defeated Pakistan by 34 runs in the initial group stage.
"We are thrilled to be in the semi-finals, but we didn’t come here to make the semi-finals," said Clarke.
The Australians, winners of the last three 50-over World Cups, were not seeded on account of their poor showing at the last World Twenty20 in England last year, when they lost both their group matches and were eliminated.
"As I’ve said from the start, I think this is a wonderful squad," said Clarke.
"We’ve got guys who haven’t had the chance in the middle, but they still turn up and train every day and work their backsides off.
"Then there’s the XI on the field that bust their backsides not only for themselves but also for the support staff, the supporters from Australia and the people at home who have doubted us in this format."
When asked if the victory over Pakistan on 2 May – when Shane Watson hit 81 in a total of 191 and Shaun Tait took 3-20 – had given his side the psychological edge, the Australia skipper replied: "I think it does, but it is more the way we are playing that gives me a lot of confidence."
Pakistan scraped through to the last four, winning only one of their three Super Eight matches.
They beat South Africa by 11 runs in their last match to get through on net run-rate, following an agonising one-run loss to New Zealand and a crushing six-wicket defeat by England.
But after Umar Akmal’s 51 and Saeed Ajmal’s 4-27 helped to overcome the South Africans, skipper Shahid Afridi said: "I think we are feeling good. Overall, the guys are very confident after the last game – and I think it will be a great game against Australia.
"We have played well, just missed some opportunities."
Pakistan won their first two Twenty20 matches against Australia, including a six-wicket win in the inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa in 2007, but have lost their most recent two games.
Clarke, however, is determined not to underestimate their talents in Friday’s showdown, and added: "They are a very strong team in any form of the game, but especially Twenty20 – and they’ve shown that to make the semi-finals once again.
"We take momentum from every win we’ve had. But they’ll come out with a lot to prove on a wicket that will probably suit them a little more than Barbados."
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