Guwahati: Pakistan advanced easily to the ICC T20 World Cup final thanks to star hitters Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who both found their form at precisely the right time after defeating New Zealand by seven wickets in the opening semifinal at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday.
Men in Green will take against either India or England in the competition’s championship game.
Pakistan got off to a strong start as they chased 153. Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam, the two openers, appeared to be interacting well. Trent Boult and Tim Southee, two prominent bowlers, were attacked by the pair, who hit them for long distances.
The duo brought up their 50-run partnership in just 5.4 overs. At the end of six overs of the powerplay, Pakistan stood at 55/0, with Mohammad Rizwan (28*), Babar Azam (25*).
Kiwis did not seem to have any answers for Azam-Rizwan’s batting as runs kept pouring. At the end of 10 overs, Pakistan stood at 87/0, with Azam (43*) and Rizwan (41*) unbeaten still.
With a couple, Azam reached his 30th half-century in the shortest format in just 38 balls. Pakistan needed 11.5 overs to score 100 runs.
The Kiwis’ breakthrough came from pacer Boult, who caught skipper Azam at long-on and dismissed him for 53 off 42 balls.
The next player to take the field was Mohammad Haris, who launched Boult over mid-off with his first pitch.
Rizwan kept on scoring, reaching his 23rd T20I fifty.
The duo continued to tick the scoreboard. At the end of 15 overs, Pakistan was 122/1, with Rizwan (54*) and Haris (11*) unbeaten.
In the 17th over, Boult took his second wicket of the game when Glenn Phillips successfully caught Rizwan in the area of the covers. The batter left the plate after making a solid 57 off 43, which included five fours.
Shan Masood entered the playing area with the task of winning the game. The spinner Santner dismissed Haris for 30 runs off of 26 balls at the final ball of the 19th over.
Pakistan needed two runs in the final over. Iftikhar Ahmed was on the crease. They finished their innings at 153/3 in 19.1 overs, with Masood (3*) and Iftikhar (0*) unbeaten.
Boult (2/33) was the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand. Santner also took a wicket.
Daryl Mitchell earlier led New Zealand to 152/4 following a top-order collapse against Pakistan in the first semi-final of the T20 World Cup at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday. Mitchell batted steadily throughout the innings, scoring an unbeaten fifty to lead New Zealand.
Opening batsmen for New Zealand, Devon Conway and Finn Allen, walked out to begin their team’s innings after deciding to bat first. The first over of the inning was filled with excitement as Allen smashed a boundary on the first ball, escaped a leg-before-wicket decision on the second, and was eventually out on the third ball.
In the second over, Conway hit two boundaries against Nassem Shah to get Pakistan and himself off to a good start.
Despite the Pakistani bowlers’ outstanding bowling, captain Kane Williamson tried to smash the ball into the gaps and keep the scoreboard moving.
With just one wicket lost, New Zealand appeared to be in position to end the powerplay, but Shadab Khan’s brilliant play in the field cost the Kiwis Conway’s wicket when the batter decided to take a chance on a single on the final delivery of the sixth over. The squad with 38/2 at the end of the powerplay.
Glenn Phillips, an explosive batsman, did smash Shadab Khan for a boundary in the seventh over, but in the eighth over, Mohammad Nawaz dismissed him after he chipped a straightforward catch to the spinner.
Williamson was joined by middle-order batsman Daryl Mitchell in an effort to stabilise the Kiwi innings, and the side reached 59/3 at the midway point.
Up until Mohammad Wasim entered the fray in the 13th over, everything appeared to be peaceful for New Zealand. Williamson finally broke free and hit a six in the over to give the innings some much-needed pace.
As a result of the aggression, Mitchell also hit a huge six to Shadab, bringing up the team’s half-century mark with their skipper.
Shaheen Afridi, the elite pace bowler for Pakistan, returned to bowl the 15th over in an effort to pick up wickets, but the Kiwi captain stroked a four towards fine-leg.
New Zealand was able to mount a comeback by scoring 47 runs from overs 11 to 15 after a sluggish start in the opening 10 overs.
The Kiwi skipper was dismissed by Afridi, who resumed his session and returned in the 17th over to bowl the final over of his allotted overs, breaking the important fourth wicket stand of 68 runs off 56 balls.
The Kiwi team finished their 20 overs at 152/4 after managing to score 29 runs from the final three deliveries with Mitchell scoring an undefeated knock of 53 runs.
The best bowler for his team, Shaheen Afridi, claimed two wickets.
Brief Score: New Zealand 152/4 (Daryl Mitchell 53*, Kane Williamson 46; Shaheen Afridi 2-24) vs Pakistan: 153/3 in 19.1 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 57, Babar Azam 53, Trent Boult 2/33).