Babar, Rizwan smash half-centuries as Pakistan beat New Zealand to seal spot in T20 World Cup 2022 final

Babar Azam smashed a half-century as Pakistan beat New Zealand in the T20 World Cup semi-final

Photo : AP

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

The hopes for a clash between India and Pakistan for the T20 World Cup 2022 final remain alive, as the Men in Green pull off a convincing victory over New Zealand in the first semi-final of the mega cricketing extravaganza at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday, November 9. After Pakistan bowlers restricted New Zealand to 152, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan stitched a match-winning 105-run stand to help the Men in Green reach the final. Batting first, New Zealand got off to the worst possible start as they lost the wicket of the hard-hitting Finn Allen right in the very first over bowled by Shaheen Afridi. The early wicket slowed down the momentum for the Kiwis, and right after the powerplay, they lost the two most important wickets of in-form batsmen Devon Conway and Glenn Philips, as the Pakistanis were superb not only with the ball in hand, but were also electric in the field as well. However, captain Kane Williamson was joined by Daryll Mitchell as they stitched together an important partnership of 68 runs to get New Zealand back on track. Williams scored 46 off 42 balls, while Daryll Mitchell hit his third T20I half-century to propel New Zealand to 152/4.

In reply, the Pakistan batsmen got off to a flying start. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who were struggling for runs throughout the tournament, as they failed to push Pakistan to a good start. However, the fortunes seemed to have changed for the opening partnership, as the pair smashed a 105-run stand for the first wicket. This was their third century stand in T20 World Cups, as the pair now hold the record for the most 100 run partnerships in the tournament’s history.

In fact, both Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan smashed their first half-centuries at the T20 World Cup 2022. While Babar smashed 50 off 36 balls, Rizwan played a little bit further to score 57 runs off 43 balls. In fact, Babar Azam was dropped in the very first over by Devon Conway, which proved to be very costly at the end.

However, New Zealand picked the wickets of both Babar and Rizwan, and slowed proceedings down in the final stages. However Mohammad Haris pulled them out of the mud with a couple of lusty blows, as he chipped in with an important cameo of 30 from 26 balls

Pakistan will now take on the winners of the second semi-final between India and England, at the final of the T20 World Cup at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.