The ICC T20 World Cup 2022 entered its business end in Australia, as the four teams for the semi-finals were confirmed on Sunday (November 6): India, Pakistan, England, and New Zealand.
Netherlands stunned the entire cricket world by defeating South Africa by 13 runs in their final Super 12 match to end their semifinal hopes and open the final round’s door for both Pakistan and Bangladesh.
However, the Men in Green made the most of the golden opportunity, as they crushed Bangladesh by 5 wickets to secure the last semifinal berth on Sunday at Adelaide.
After Pakistan’s semifinal qualification, the team mentor Matthew Hayden delivered a passionate speech and warned the other three semifinalists of the T20 World Cup 2022, as the Men in Green set to face New Zealand in the first semifinal on November 9 at the SCG.
The former Australian cricketer admitted that Pakistan might not have qualified for the semifinals if the Netherlands didn’t beat South Africa, but now they are in the top four that no one wants to see, so the other three teams should be wary of the Men in Green, as they become a real threat for them now.
Hayden said in a video shared by Pakistan Cricket on Sunday on Twitter: “There was that kind of thinking that potentially it was going to be a different result but the moment that Pakistan cricket fires off with intent and starts to reveal its teeth, they become a real threat.”
The Aussie great added, “There will be no one in this world, in this competition that would want to face us right now, not one. They thought that they got rid of us. Now, they're not going to get rid of us. If not for Dutch, perhaps, well not perhaps, we're not here. Now we're here and it's powerful because no one wants to see us here and that's the element of surprise that we have got advantage of.”
