Pakistan reached the final of the Men’s T20 World Cup after a thunderous seven-wicket victory over New Zealand in Sydney. Chasing 153 to win, Pakistan openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan scored half-centuries in an opening stand of 105 to seal a stunning win. Shan Masood hit the winning runs off five balls to send Pakistan fans into a frenzy at an electrifying SCG. Darryl Mitchell had earlier hit an unbeaten half-century as New Zealand recovered from 49-3 to 152-4. Pakistan will now play England or India – who meet on Thursday – in Sunday’s final in Melbourne. It continues a stunning comeback for Pakistan, who were on the brink of elimination after losing to arch-rivals India and then Zimbabwe in their opening two matches of the tournament. South Africa needed a shock defeat by the Netherlands to keep their hopes alive, but they are now just one match away from a second T20 World Cup triumph.
Pakistan hopes to emulate the class of ’92
Pakistan have made a terrible start to this tournament but now seem to have almost unstoppable momentum as they look to repeat their success in the 1992 50-over World Cup in Australia. They made a terrible start to this tournament too, losing their first three group games, but a dramatic revival – including a semi-final victory over New Zealand – saw them beat England in the final. There seems to be a similar sense of destiny here as they ride the crest of a wave fueled by their raucous, passionate support, once against gathered in large numbers. They dismantled New Zealand largely thanks to a superb start with the bat from Babar and Rizwan, who struggled for fluency in the tournament but finally fired when it mattered. A brutal opening attack took them to 55-0 after the powerplay and when they reached 87-0 at half-time, the Kiwi players looked stunned. Babar was eventually dismissed when he tried to lift Boult for a six but held Mitchell at long-on, but his 53 off 42 balls was more than he had scored in five previous innings in this World Cup combined. Two more late wickets, including this one by Rizwan for 57 off 43 balls, briefly had Pakistan’s nerves fraying, but Masood saw them over the line to complete a comprehensive victory.
Black Hats well beaten
Unlike Pakistan, New Zealand have made almost serene progress at this stage after starting their tournament with a huge win over hosts Australia. But they looked completely bewildered here and can have few complaints with the result. The tone of the match was set early on, with Finn Allen driving Shaheen Afridi’s first ball of the match for four, before pounding the next delivery. Allen successfully overturned the decision after replays showed a thick inside edge, but another vicious infielder from Shaheen trapped him in front on the next ball to rally an already excited crowd. Mitchell and Williamson built the innings diligently after the Black Caps slumped to 49-3 but managed just five boundaries in a 68-run fourth-wicket partnership. The surface used looked slow and difficult to score on, meaning New Zealand’s 152-4 seemed to defend the total. But Pakistan made a mockery of it as they dismantled the experienced partnership of Boult and South to bowl the Black Caps in the powerplay to put themselves ahead of the run-rate. New Zealand’s below-par performance was summed up by two wickets, most notably by Babar, who fell under wicketkeeper Conway off the second ball of the match.
