Ajmal was our best bowler of the tournament and it was appropriate for him to bowl the last one. He was doing well against the slog by mixing it up with doosra, quicker ones, flight and all. However, the last over was just aweful. He started off with a short pitch, followed by a volley and then it was just too late. I think he succumb to pressure.
Talking about pressure, I think Afridi as a captain didn't handle pressure well as far as his own performance is concerned. His batting has always been questionable but usually he doesn't get slogged around for one six after another. He was in a defensive mindset which means death against Australia.
All respect for Hussey though. He is the best 'finisher' of this era. Unlike Tendulkar who brings you close but doesn't put his stamp on the win, Hussey closes the game more often than any other batsman. Even though, White had a bigger hand in changing the momentum of the game, Hussey left with glory because he is the confident guy you want on your side to play the last ball.
I agree the comparison could be a little unfair considering batting order but I am talking about the state of mind needed to close a match.
For example, our match against NZ which we lost by one run..Salman Butt (opener) was there at the end but he couldn't finish it. You don't expect Hussey or Bevan avoiding the crunch.
And who knows what might have happened had that catch been taken by the fielder at backward point. Hussey would have been out and Aussies would have still needed 5 off the last two balls with Shaun Tait at the crease. Such near misses can prove costly as it did yesterday
19.4
Saeed Ajmal to MEK Hussey, FOUR, 65.5 mph, Absolutely crunched! And the scores are level! Unbelievable scenes here. Michael Hussey you beauty! What immense drama here. It was a length delivery outside off stump, Huseey slashed out at it and edges it past backward point fielder . IT went over the leaping fielder. It was that close. It was that dramatic.
And for once Pakistan gave away fewer extras than Australia (13 v 20)!
There are more ifs and buts. There was a stumping chance of D Hussey or C White off of Rehman’s bowling (I think) had Kamran collected clearly. Kamran was seen holding his head after the missed chance.
