Sydney: An opening stand of 105 runs between Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan helped Pakistan in setting the tone for their seven-wicket win over New Zealand in the semi-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Sydney. This is a tremendous achievement for Pakistan considering that they lost their first two matches in the Super 12.

They bounced back from there, registering three wins on the trot, and made their way to the semi-finals. Pakistan needed a steady start to chase the target down but they got much more than that as Babar and Rizwan put on a show to lay the base for their victory. The duo put on a stand of 105 runs, with both batters making their way to well-deserved fifties. While Rizwan scored 57 from 43 deliveries, Babar made his way to a 42-ball knock of 53.

New Zealand had lost three key wickets for just 49 runs when Mitchell joined skipper Kane Williamson at the crease. Mitchell went on the charge straightaway whereas Williamson played the second fiddle, as the duo put on a stand of 68 runs for the fourth wicket. Williamson departed for 46 from 42 deliveries just when their innings entered the death over but Mitchell carried on and made his way to a superb knock of 53* from just 35 deliveries to help New Zealand cross 150. Pakistan needed just 48 to win from 44 deliveries when their partnership came to an end and the middle-order finished the job off with perfection, chasing the target down with seven wickets and five balls to spare.

­New Zealand had lost three key wickets for just 49 runs when Mitchell joined skipper Kane Williamson at the crease. Mitchell went on the charge straightaway whereas Williamson played the second fiddle, as the duo put on a stand of 68 runs for the fourth wicket. Williamson departed for 46 from 42 deliveries just when their innings entered the death over but Mitchell carried on and made his way to a superb knock of 53* from just 35 deliveries to help New Zealand cross 150. For Pakistan, Shaheen Afridi was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4-0-24-2 to his name. But the entire unit delivered a disciplined performance on a used track to restrict the Kiwis to a chaseable target.

Published in The Daily National Courier, November, 10 2022

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