Pakistan, who lost to Zimbabwe earlier in the tournament, only reached the semi-finals thanks to Netherlands’ improbable win over South Africa, have put in a near-perfect performance to enter the final of the 2022 Men’s T20 World Cup.
It is very good that Pakistan team is ranked in this match. Shaheen Afridi took his first wicket of the over, catching Finn Allen off a poor inswinger off the third ball. Their seamers locked down the back end of the innings conceding just 53 runs in the last six overs (which they have done well in the tournament).
Their openers then returned to brilliant form as they restricted New Zealand to 152 for 4 after struggling to find boundaries. After being dismissed in the first over, Babar Azam smashed 53 runs off 42 balls to knock the spinners to the ground at square leg. Mohammad Rizwan was even more impressive, scoring 57 off 43 balls after a 105-run partnership for the first wicket.
There was some stutter toward the end as Pakistan lost their opener and fell a touch behind. But Babur and Rizwan fooled the chase. They reached there with five balls to spare.
Pakistan dominates in deaths
At 99 for 3 at the end of the 14th over, New Zealand wasn’t exactly flying, but given the firepower in their middle order, they could have scored more than 160 in their sights. Pakistan’s fast bowlers adjusted their pace, bowled masterfully in their field, and backed up well in the field, where Pakistan excelled this evening. New Zealand managed just three fours in the last six overs, with Daryl Mitchell leading the charge with two runs instead of a difficult one.
Rizwan and Babar took the quick wickets of New Zealand and Trent Boult could have dismissed Babar first ball in the first over. But a diving Devon Conway could only get the mesh of his glove on the chance, and couldn’t stick it.
In Boult’s next over, Pakistan’s openers kicked the innings into high gear as it would remain for the duration of their stand. Babar crashed Boult through point, Rizwan had a good look at him, then thumped his square to the offside as well, the pair taking 15 in that over. In Tim Southee’s second over, they took 15 again, Rizwan hit him twice through midwicket, and Babar cracked him to backward square leg.
The spinners gave New Zealand little control, but the pair negotiated that period smartly, rarely failing to find the boundary on the bad balls. At the end of the 12th, the required rate was only 6.37.
Williamson and Mitchell inspire hope
If there was one period New Zealand could claim to be on top, it was probably from 11 to 14 overs of their own innings. They were 59 for 3 at the halfway stage, much needed to advance. Mitchell hit two fours in the 11th over, bowled by Shadab Khan. In the 13th over, Williamson hit Mohammad Wasim at deep square leg for the first six of the innings, while Mitchell launched Shadab into the site screen in the 14th over. They scored 40 runs in those four overs. They did not match the scoring rate after that period.
Haris eases Pakistani nerves
The lull came when Babar and Rizwan were separated and there was a bit of discomfort when Rizwan got out at the end of the 17th over, leaving Pakistan with 21 off 18 balls. But in the next over, Mohammad Haris put Pakistan back on the easy path to victory. He stepped back and drilled Lucky Ferguson’s yorker to wide four at mid-off, before sitting back to join him in the stands with the next ball. Even though he got out before the winning run, he kept the game safe.