Despite losing to India and Zimbabwe a few weeks ago, Pakistan managed to advance to the semifinals of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022 owing to the Netherlands' unexpected victory over South Africa.
Pakistan have now secured a place in the summit clash by defeating New Zealand in the first semifinal on Wednesday (November 09). They were clinical against the Kiwis in all three departments and thrashed them by 7 wickets.
Following the victory, Pakistan's opener and Player of the Match in the game on Wednesday, Mohammad Rizwan, expressed his team's desire to face India in the final match on Sunday (November 13).
“Our boys said that they were hoping for a final against India. Some players have been comparing our campaign to the 1992 World Cup, so they are fine with facing England in the final as well,” Rizwan said while speaking to Star Sports.
Rizwan continued by saying that his team taking on the Men in Blue is the biggest match, and the whole world would enjoy that encounter.
“According to me, the biggest series in the world is the Ashes, but even bigger than that is an India vs Pakistan match. The whole world will enjoy that matchup. What else can I ask for,” he added.
All the things that didn’t work out for the Men in Green at the beginning of the tournament worked on Wednesday, Shaheen Shah Afridi striking in the first over, openers Babar Azam (53 off 42 balls) and Rizwan (57 off 43 balls) scoring half-centuries.
Rizwan went on talk about the adjustments he made against the BlackCaps.
“Early on I usually cut the ball but today I was trying to punch it because I got a boundary on the very first ball. I could feel Trent Boult was bowling in my range and I adjusted to the conditions of the pitch. Our plan was to attack the powerplay since the ball would slow down later on in the innings. Our focus was on playing the ball in the front areas, instead of cutting and slicing,” he revealed.
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma and Co. will face England in the second semi-final on Thursday (November 10) at the Adelaide Oval.
(STAR SPORTS INPUTS)
