Facing old rival England for a spot in the knockout stage of the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa, the Aussies looked down and out after losing 6-53 chasing 253 for victory.
It brought Murphy to the crease with 47 runs required though and, alongside number nine batsman Connor Sully, the penultimate pairing were tasked with what seemed like a nigh on impossible job of clubbing 40 runs from the final three overs.
But as it is in all the classics, belief was all Sully and Murphy needed to hold on to in order to send their country to the next stage of the tournament and simultaneously consign their opponents to consolation playoffs.
Sully did most of the damage - hitting three sixes and a four in his unbeaten 35 from 20 deliveries - but left-handed bat Murphy struck two crucial boundaries and fed his partner the strike superbly to play an important role in the sublime stand with 16 not out from 10 balls faced.
The heroics from Sully and Murphy nearly came unstuck on the penultimate delivery of the match as they searched for a second - and tying - run, with a bobble in the field from England helping Sully return to the safety of the crease.
His skied shot over the off-side infield then found acres of space from the final ball, sending Australia's camp into raptures and completing their very own `Great Escape'.
In the first innings, bespectacled right-arm tweaker Murphy had snared 1-35 from his 10 overs to help restrict England to 7-252.
Against Nigeria earlier in the week Murphy claimed 1-13 in a big win, while he put in a seven-over shift in Australia's opening loss to the West Indies for figures of 0-26.
Murphy and his teammates will face the winner of New Zealand and India in the next clash.
