Australia Hold Firm Against Wahab Riaz and More from the 3rd Quarter-Final

It might not have been quite as straightforward as the final margin of victory suggests, but Australia booked their place in the last four of the World Cup by seeing off Pakistan.

The co-hosts set up a semi-final showdown with India in Sydney thanks to a six-wicket triumph at the Adelaide Oval on Friday.

Pakistan failed to make the most of the opportunity to bat first after winning the toss, and seamer Josh Hazlewood took four for 35 as the 1992 champions were bowled out for 213.

Australia's run chase looked in a spot of trouble when Michael Clarke departed, leaving the score at 59 for three.

However, the crucial moment of the contest came when Rahat Ali failed to cling on to a chance at fine leg that would have dismissed Shane Watson soon after for just four.

The all-rounder went on to make an unbeaten 64 to steer Australia to their target with 97 balls to spare.

Delivery of the day

Wahab Riaz had Australia worried during a seriously hostile six-over spell.

The left-arm paceman had already removed David Warner by the time an excellent bouncer proved too much for Clarke to cope with.

With the ball coming right at the badge on his helmet, Australia’s skipper could only fend it off straight to Sohaib Maqsood at short mid-wicket.

A similar ploy should have seen the end of Watson, but Wahab was not backed up by his team-mate down at fine leg. The miss by Rahat proved extremely costly.

Shot of the day

Glenn Maxwell has the ability to hit the ball in unusual places and in an unorthodox fashion.

He demonstrated his talent with a truly outrageous shot when trying to deal with a short delivery from Wahab toward the end of Australia’s successful chase.

Initially looking to pull the ball, Maxwell then realised he was going to be too late to go all the way through with the shot.

He stopped swinging to leg and instead opted to play a cut shot from a rather unusual stance. The end result was four runs and some amusing reactions on Twitter:

"

This went to the point boundary for four off the middle of the bat. #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/vg1FdIKdet

— Dennis Does Cricket (@DennisCricket_) March 20, 2015"

Catch of the day

Aaron Finch took three catches as Pakistan continuously played poorly judged shots to pick him out in the deep.

While none of them were particularly tricky opportunities, Finch crucially managed to cling on to the chances that came his way.

The most important catch of the lot was the one that dismissed Misbah-ul-Haq for 34. Pakistan's skipper had taken a liking to Maxwell’s off-spin but, having already hit two sixes, perished trying to make it a hat-trick.

Ali also held on to a tough chance in the deep, running in from third man to cling on by his knee. However, he fluffed his lines soon after when Watson presented him with a far easier opportunity.

Morne de Klerk/Getty Images

Final hurrah

Shahid Afridi and Misbah were unable to extend their one-day careers one more game. They have been tremendous servants to Pakistan in the 50-over format:

Afridi has not quite been at his peak during the World Cup, but he did give us one last reminder of his capabilities when he has a bat in his hands:

Stat of the day

Next at the World Cup

Saturday sees the last remaining quarter-final take place in Wellington, with tournament co-hosts New Zealand facing West Indies.

The Black Caps have a perfect record so far, winning all six games to finish on top of Group A. West Indies found life a little tougher in Group B, only claiming the last qualification berth ahead of Ireland on run rate.

The winner of the match will go on to Auckland to take on South Africa for a place in the World Cup final.