Pakistan knocked New Zealand out of the T20 World Cup and marched to the final on Wednesday. In the first semifinal of the event, Pakistan beat New Zealand by seven wickets at the Sydney Cricket Ground. It’s the third time Pakistan booked a place in the T20 World Cup final. They appeared in a final for the first time in 2007 when they lost the final to India. But in 2009, they won the final beating Sri Lanka at Lord’s.
While chasing a fighting total of 152, both Pakistani openers – Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan – hit a fifty each and laid down an opening stand of more than 100 runs that eventually set the foundation for Pakistan to seal the match. While Rizwan posted 57, Babar scored 53. After their departure, it was Mohammad Haris who kept the scorecard of Pakistan going. He scored 30 off 26 balls before falling prey to Mitchell Santner in the last ball of the 19th over.
Eventually, Pakistan reached the target of 153 for three in the 19.1 over and marched to the final that will be played on November 13 at Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne.Earlier, New Zealand won the toss and opted to bat first. They ended up on 152 for four in 20 overs.
New Zealand’s top-order struggled a lot in this match. Despite that, they managed to pass the 150-run mark.Glenn Phillips failed to do well in the semi. He just posted 6 of 8 balls. Phillips batted at a strike rate of more than 150 in this World Cup ahead of the semi.Daryl Mitchell was the best batter for the Kiwis posting 53 for 35 balls, and the captain Kane Williamson posted 46 runs.
For Pakistan, Shaheen Afridi bagged two wickets conceding 24 runs while Mohammad Nawaz took one. New Zealand lost one wicket to run-out.The second semifinal will be played on Thursday where India will take on England. If India win the second semifinal, they will take on Pakistan in the final for the second time after 2007.
