Pakistan are all set to lock horns with New Zealand in the first semi-final of the ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup at the Sydney Cricket Stadium – today (Wednesday) – to secure a place in the final of cricket’s biggest event. Ready to make.
Pakistan will face the Kiwis for the fourth time in the semi-finals of the World Cup, which will start at 1 pm. The two teams have faced each other six times in the history of T20 World Cup so far and Pakistan won four matches while New Zealand managed to win two.
The second semi-final between India and England will be played at the Adelaide Oval Stadium in Adelaide on Thursday.
The Black Caps practiced in Sydney ahead of the big game of the mega cricket event. But, the Pakistani players rested, except for captain Babar Azam, who practiced alone for an hour and a half.
The men in green are looking confident as they have won their last three group matches. They will face New Zealand with the same winning combination. Similarly, the Black Caps are also unlikely to make any changes to their squad.
Matches from the 1992 World Cup
In the 1992 World Cup, Pakistan clashed with New Zealand in the semi-finals after a disappointing performance in the first three matches. Pakistan experienced a similar history in this World Cup as well.
These similarities have caught the attention of many social media users. There is a debate on this topic in cricket circles as well. Meanwhile, Pakistan team mentor Matthew Hayden also has something to say on this topic and he called Pakistan a strong team.
“It hasn’t been a direct impact, but we all understand the significance and importance of it,” the former Australian opener said at a press conference on Tuesday.
He added, “It was also a tournament that was plagued by the nuances of Pakistan cricket; that is, there is no dominant performance. There is a performance that is challenged and then suddenly Pakistan come forward and they are dangerous and formidable.” He added.
Pakistan
The 2009 champions got off to a heartbreaking start to their campaign when they lost a last-ball thriller to arch-rivals India, before suffering a shock loss to Zimbabwe in the next match.
They looked dead and buried, and the victory against the Netherlands was hardly impressive as they lost four wickets in a modest chase of 92.
But Pakistan produced a dominant performance to hammer South Africa and revive their semi-final hopes, while the Dutch did them a favor with a stunning defeat of South Africa.
Babar Azam’s side won a do-or-die clash against Bangladesh to enter the final four, with fast-spear Shaheen Shah Afridi returning with career-best figures of 4-22.
Azam’s form has been a concern, however, with the opener managing just 39 runs in the last five matches.
New Zealand
The Black Caps got off to a flying start to the tournament, beating defending champions and hosts Australia by 89 runs, the best start to their campaign so far.
The washout against Afghanistan did not stop their momentum. They defeated Sri Lanka in which Glenn Phillips scored his second century of this World Cup by scoring 104 runs off 64 balls.
New Zealand failed to chase down 180 against England but captain Kane Williamson stormed into form with a blistering 61 and regrouped to beat Ireland.
Last year’s beaten finalists topped pre-tournament favorites Australia and England’s net run rate in two of the toughest Super 12 groups to show how dangerous they are.
The line-ups
Pakistan: Muhammad Rizwan (wicket), Babar Azam (captain), Muhammad Haris, Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Muhammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Muhammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf.
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Dion Conway (w), Kane Williamson (c), Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Ash Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson.
