The first semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022 was played between Pakistan and New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on November 9, 2022. This was expected to be a cruncher of a game but proved to be a cakewalk for Babar Azam and his men.
The two teams came into this knockout match with very different fortunes as New Zealand had topped Group 1 while Pakistan only made it into the semis after the Netherlands handed a shock defeat to South Africa and they managed to stave off competition from Bangladesh.
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 53* and Kane Williamson with 46 were the top scorers, while Shaheen Afridi picked 2/24.
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.
Mohammad Rizwan also fell shortly after for 57 in 43 balls with 5 fours to his name. While New Zealand thought that they had some hope for a comeback, Mohammad Haris hammered 30 in 26 balls to douse that hope before falling with just 2 runs required to win.
Pakistan won the game in an impressive fashion by 7 wickets in the last over and qualified for the final, which will be played at the MCG on November 13. They will wait for their opponent as India and England will play the second semi-final in Adelaide on November 10.
The cricket fraternity was all praises for Babar Azam and his team and congratulated them for making it into the finals on Twitter.
Here are the tweets:
