Pakistan openers Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam set the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on fire in the first semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022 against New Zealand, adding 105 runs for the first wicket in a chase of the 153-run target.
Kane Williamson won the toss and chose to bat first. But the Pakistani bowlers first put pressure on their batters and kept that pressure throughout the innings, as New Zealand only managed 152/4. Daryl Mitchell with 52* and Kane Williamson with 46 were the top scorers, while Shaheen Afridi picked 2/24.
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In reply, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan came out in blazing fashion and hit the Kiwi bowlers to all parts of the SCG ground, adding 105 runs for the first wicket with Babar Azam falling for 53 in 47 balls with 7 fours, his first fifty in this tournament.
This was Babar and Rizwan’s 9th hundred partnership- the most in T20Is by any pair and 3rd in the T20 World Cup, another record for the duo.
The cricket fraternity lauded both batters on Twitter for putting Pakistan in the driver’s seat in the knockout game.
Here are the tweets:
