Pakistan have reached the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup by defeating New Zealand in the semifinal. Today, Pakistan faced New Zealand in the semifinal clash at the Sydney Cricket Ground, where they beat the Black Caps by seven wickets. Pakistani batter Mohammad Rizwan received the Player of the Match award for his crucial half-century against the Kiwis.
As it happened
At Sydney Cricket Ground, Kiwi captain Kane Williamson won the toss and opted to bat first. So, Finn Allen and Devon Conway came into the crease to start the innings for New Zealand. Unfortunately, they failed to get a good start. Finn Allen lost his wicket in the very first over as he departed the crease after being LBW by Shaheen Afridi.
After that, Devon Conway tried to handle the situation with the skipper, Kane Williamson. They were playing defensively against the Pakistani bowlers. They picked up 34 runs together on the scoreboard. Their partnership was looking good, but Shadab Khan broke their partnership. Devon Conway left the crease by being run out in the 6th over. Glenn Phillips, the following batter, also failed to contribute much.
However, captain Kane Williamson made a brilliant partnership with Daryl Mitchell. Together they added 68 runs on the scoreboard. Daryl Mitchell was more aggressive than Williamson. Unfortunately, Williamson departed the pitch, scoring 46 runs. But Daryl Mitchell remained not out in 53 runs. Relying on their scores, New Zealand ended their innings with 152 runs.
Chasing the target, two openers of Pakistan got a flying start. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan jointly made 105 runs on the opening wicket, their highest partnership so far. Both batters picked up half-centuries in this match.
Babar Azam scored his 53 off 42 balls before losing the wicket to Trent Boult in the 13th over. Meanwhile, Mohammad Rizwan picked up 57 runs with five boundaries.
After that, Mohammad Haris added 30 runs for Pakistan, which helped the team to get closer to the target. Shan Masood and Iftikhar Ahmed then successfully chased the target with five balls left. Therefore, Pakistan won the match by seven wickets and reached the final.