Pakistan defeated New Zealand in the semi-final to book a spot in the final.
The Men in Green defeated New Zealand by seven wickets in the semi-final despite losing the toss at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Thanks to outstanding bowling spells from Shaheen Afridi (2-24), Naseem Shah (0-30), and Haris Rauf (0-32), Pakistan restricted the Kiwis to 152/4 in 20 overs.
In reply, the 2009 champions got over the line with five deliveries to spare with key contributions from Mohammad Rizwan (57 off 43 balls), Babar Azam (53 off 42 balls), and youngster Mohammad Haris (30 off 26 balls).
After the game, Pakistan team mentor Matthew Hayden lauded the team’s performance in the semis, calling it sensational.
The Australian batting legend also cited the example of skipper Babar throwing balls to opening partner Rizwan before the start of the match to highlight the camaraderie among Pakistani players.
“I want to make special mention to a moment that I saw at the start of the play today. That was Rizi and Babar. Babar throwing the balls to Rizi and I just thought, you know from an opening partnership’s point of view, that’s exactly what this team requires, moving forward now. It’s just extraordinary that that couple decided to do that. Plenty of coaches around but Babar showed that it was not just about Babar but it was also about his mate on the other end,” he said in a video posted on PCB’s Twitter account.
Hayden also reserved special praise for the Pakistani bowling attack, terming it extraordinary while also adding that their fielding efforts were extraordinary.
“Even though there were 22 or 23 twos conceded, I can’t remember one of those twos coming from no effort. There were genuine good running and again, the efforts in the field and your athletic abilities and some of the classic saves…” he said before he paused as someone in the locker room brought up the stunning direct-hit of Shadab Khan to get rid of Devon Conway.
“Actually even before the run out, that fielding effort, you know where you dived and got up around, that sort of stuff that wins big matches. And I said this at the start of the day, you have to opt in in big matches. Everyone at this stage will will go ‘Pakistan you have done a great job’, it doesn’t matter but our efforts and collective partnerships and our belief in each other mean that we are actually opting even more in because that’s what it takes to win a championship. That’s what it takes to win a semifinal,” he further remarked.
“So guys, that was a flawless display of superb cricket. Flawless display of bowling, fielding, some quality efforts and extraordinary batting. Again Haris, it was a little tricky situation but that was another injection of great energy and great enthusiasm. So that was a complete performance and the world will see more of that in four days’ time,” he concluded.
Pakistan will now face the winner of the second semi-final between India and England in the final at MCG on November 13.