Pakistan will continue their rollercoaster ride at the T20 World Cup as they stormed into the final after beating New Zealand by seven wickets at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday.
Paceman Shaheen Afridi led the way with 2-24 as the Black Caps were restricted to 152-4 before openers Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam finally found their scoring touch with half-centuries in a 105-run stand to lay the foundation for victory.
Pakistan scraped into the last four only after the Netherlands had upset South Africa last Sunday but will now play India or England, who face off in the second semi-final in Adelaide on Thursday, in Sunday’s title decider in Melbourne.
“Our start (in the tournament) was not good, but we worked hard and kept our belief,” said Rizwan, who was named man of the match for his 57 off 43 balls.
Riding the momentum of their great escape from the group stage, the 2009 champions lost the toss but still looked charged with confidence from the moment Afridi took the ball for the opening over.
New Zealand’s powerplay maestro Finn Allen cracked a four off the first delivery but had to be rescued from an lbw decision by DRS on the second before departing trapped in front on the third.
Devon Conway was run out by a direct hit from Shadab Khan for 21 on the final ball of the powerplay to leave New Zealand on 38-2 and another dangerman Glenn Phillips was meekly caught and bowled by spinner Mohammad Nawaz for six soon afterwards.
Skipper Kane Williamson steadied the ship with Daryl Mitchell but departed for 46 when he attempted to paddle a slower Afridi delivery which rattled into his unguarded stumps.
Mitchell, New Zealand’s batting hero on their run to last year’s final in Abu Dhabi, continued to an unbeaten 53 but his 35-ball innings featured only four boundaries as tight bowling and athletic fielding kept him shackled.
Babar and Rizwan had failed to deliver on their considerable reputations in the group stage but made up for it in some style with a blockbuster opening partnership.
The captain enjoyed a stroke of luck when he was dropped by wicketkeeper Conway off his first ball from Trent Boult but hammered 53 runs off the next 41 deliveries he faced before holing out in the deep.
Rizwan reached the half-century mark soon afterwards before also holing out but Mohammad Haris kept up the pace with a bright 30 and Shan Masood got them over the line at 153-3 with five balls to spare.
“Used pitch, devoid of grass,” said Kan Williamson. “Same pitch, but different and it’s important we adjust to the changing conditions. For us, it’s just focusing on this game and the conditions.”
On the other hand, Babar said that they will look to put the Blackcaps under pressure.
“Toss is not in our hand and we will look to put pressure on them,” he said confirming an unchanged side. “We have a lot of confidence from the triangular series, but New Zealand have quality players and we will play according to the situation. We have not played last two finals, but we’re focusing on this match.”
Pakistan Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Haris, Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, and Shaheen Afridi.
New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Kane Williamson (captain), Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, and Trent Boult.
Pakistan’s journey started with a heartbreaking loss to India in front of 92,000 fans at Melbourne Cricket Ground which was followed by an equally dramatic upset at the hands of Zimbabwe and a rain-disrupted win over South Africa.
They scraped into the last four by beating Bangladesh but only after a stunning upset of South Africa by the Netherlands in Super 12 round matches of group 2 had cleared the path.
“Shadab (Khan) actually said something very significant in the dugout the other day, he said: ‘Welcome to Pakistan cricket’,” team mentor Matthew Hayden said on Tuesday.
“Meaning that on any given day, anything can happen. When Netherlands beat South Africa, it was a significant moment for us in the tournament and as a result of that, I feel that there was very much an uplifting of tempo in our group.”
If Pakistan will be looking to ride the momentum of their great escape from the group, New Zealand will be relying on a tried and tested philosophy as they seek to reach the final against India or England.
The Black Caps hammered hosts and champions Australia in their tournament opener, had a match washed out and lost a high-quality contest to England before reaching a fifth successive white-ball World Cup semi-final as group winners.
“We’re just focusing on one game at a time as we have done throughout this tournament,” said captain Kane Williamson.
“And now we’re in a semi-final, which is a nice place to be, but it’s about cricket and the type of cricket we want to commit to and keep playing and that will be our focus.”
Blue skies are forecast for the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday for what could be an intriguing contrast between two well-balanced teams boasting some fine pace bowling.
For some, the match has echoes of the 1992 50-overs World Cup in Australia, where Pakistan scraped into the last four before beating tournament favourites New Zealand in the semis and England in the final.
Williamson was reluctant to ascribe to one of Pakistan’s finest hours in white ball cricket – they also won the T20 World Cup in 2009 – as being any sort of precedent.
“I was two,” he deadpanned. “There’s also a rich cricketing history in New Zealand. A number of great moments.”
