#OnThisDay in 2010 - Michael Hussey knocked out Pakistan with a sucker-punch

'Is there anything that this man can't do?' An ecstatic Harsha Bhogle couldn't believe what he was witnessing at Gros Islet when Michael Hussey deposited Saeed Ajmal for another six in the final over of the T20 World Cup semi-final on this day in 2010.

And, frankly, Harsha wasn't the only one who couldn't believe his eyes. Even Hussey's teammates couldn't believe what was unfolding in front of them.

For the longest part of that semi-final fixture, Australia were behind well behind the game. Their bowling attack had been taken to the cleaners by the Akmal brothers- Kamran Akmal (50 off 34 deliveries) and Umar Akmal (56* off 35 deliveries)- and for the better part of their run-chase of 192, they never looked like getting close to it.

Chasing 192 to book their spot in their first-ever T20 World Cup, the Aussies got off to a disastrous start as they lost in-form David Warner and Shane Watson to Mohammad Amir in the first 3 overs.

Watson's dismissal was a body blow for the Aussies as the all-rounder was in red-hot form at the time, but he had also gotten off to a start- 16 off 9 deliveries.

What followed over the course of the next 10 overs was poor batting from the likes of Michael Clarke (17 off 19), Brad Haddin (25 off 20), and David Hussey (13 off 9) as the trio failed to keep up with the asking rate.

Cameron White did smash a 31-ball 43 with the help of five sixes, but when he was dismissed by Amir in the 17th over, Australia still needed 53 runs from the remaining 3.3 overs.

When White got out, the commentator's first reaction was, 'Is this it for Australia?' 

Little did he or anyone know what Hussey had in his mind.

The southpaw, who had announced himself by smashing Shahid Afridi for a couple of sixes in the 16th over, took it upon himself to guide Australia to an unprecedented win.

The next two overs bowled by Ajmal and Amir yielded 30 runs, with Hussey smashing a six and a couple of fours.

The equation eventually boiled down to 18 from the last six. But, by this time, Hussey had completely messed up Ajmal's mindset. The veteran spinner fired everything into Hussey's legs, and the southpaw kept depositing him into the square-leg and long-on stands.

The first couple of sixes brought up Hussey's half-century [in just 22 deliveries], and the champion southpaw celebrated that by slashing a length delivery from the spinner past backward point for another four before once again depositing him way beyond the long-on boundary to seal the deal.

Hussey let out a guttural roar as his teammates came rushing to hug him. It was a perfect agony vs ecstasy moment, where both sides were simply perplexed at what had just transpired. It was a perfect jailbreak for Australia and a moment to forget for Pakistan and their fans, whose dream of retaining the WC crown was smashed into pieces by one 'WILD' knock.

Eleven years later, history repeated itself when Matthew Wade did the same to Shaheen Afridi in yet another WC semi-final.