Pakistan hardly put a foot wrong and dominated pretty much from start to finish, beating New Zealand by seven wickets in their World Cup semi-final clash at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday.
The reward for them is an entry in the World Cup final opposite one of England and India on Sunday. If it turns out to be the former, than it would keep them on track to replicate the template of their successful World Cup run from 30 years ago when they had come back from the dead to beat the Kiwis in the semis and England in the final.
They had a nightmare start to the day as Babar Azam lost the toss and was forced to field first when he’d have liked to bat. Then, on the first ball of the over, their star pacer Shaheen Afridi was hit for a four. From that point on, however, it was all Pakistan.
From bowling to fielding and even decision making, Babar and Co got every single thing right as the Kiwis were a distant second. Set a target of 153, it was expected that the out-of-form pairing of Babar and Mohammad Rizwan could struggle. Those concerns were quickly put to bed as the Pakistan openers dominated Kiwi pacers.
Both the star openers, after a tournament’s worth of struggles, came alive when it mattered the most and scored half centuries each. The pair did not stay till the end, but their body of work was enough to let latter batters get the team over the line comfortably.Captain Babar Azam and wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan hit sublime half-centuries to help Pakistan surpass the 153-run target in the final over.
The win was set up by a brilliant bowling display by Pakistan pacers who restricted New Zealand to 152/4 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Shaheen Afridi (24/2) set the tone with the wicket of in-form Finn Allen in the first over. He was backed by Naseem Shah (30/0), and Haris Rauf (32/0) who remained economical in their four-over quota.
Daryl Mitchell hit an unbeaten 53 against some sharp Pakistan fielding and disciplined bowling as New Zealand were held to 152-4 in the first Twenty20 World Cup semi-final in Sydney on Wednesday.
The Black Caps struggled to get on top of the attack in the opening 10 overs, smacking just five boundaries as they crawled to 59-3.
Mitchell and Kane Williamson (46) then accelerated in a 68-run stand before they threw the bat in the final few overs. Shaheen Afridi was the pick of the bowlers with 2-24.
New Zealand, who topped Group 1, are aiming to make the final for the second consecutive time as they target a maiden T20 title.
Like New Zealand, Group 2 runners-up Pakistan are in the semis for a second straight year as they look to add to their 2009 World Cup triumph.
The winner will face either England or India -- who meet in Adelaide on Thursday -- in Sunday's final.
Teams batting first have won five from six games played at the Sydney Cricket Ground this tournament and when Williamson won the toss he had no hesitation in asking Pakistan to bowl.
In an eventful opening over, Finn Allen hit Afridi for four off the first delivery than was given out the next ball lbw.
It was overturned on review because of an inside edge only for Afridi to promptly do the same again and this time it was plumb.
Devon Conway and Williamson steadied the ship but some fine fielding restricted them in the six-over powerplay, where only two fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle.
It included the spectacular run out of Conway for 21 by Shadab Khan, who scored a direct hit from mid-off.
They suffered another big blow when Glenn Phillips was caught and bowled by Mohammad Nawaz for six.
Mitchell and Williamson began taking more risks after they passed the 10-over mark with the first six coming in the 13th over -- Williamson's first boundary in 30 balls.
The New Zealand captain was finally undone by an Afridi yorker after a 42-ball knock that yielded only two boundaries before Mitchell and Jimmy Neesham, who scored 16, added 29 runs in the final three overs.
Mohammad Nawaz (12/1) was also handy with the ball.
Earlier, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson won the toss and decided to bat first in the first against Pakistan.
The match started at 1 pm Pakistan Time.
LIVE UPDATE
Pakistan innings
That's it. Pakistan win it by 7 wickets to qualify for the T20 World Cup final.
Pakistan: 153/3 in 19.1 overs.
Pakistan: 151/3 in 19 overs.
WICKET: Haris departs for 28.
Pakistan: 145/2 in 18 overs.
SIX: Haris slogs it for a six.
Four: Haris finds the gap.
Pakistan: 132/2 in 17 overs.
WICKET: Rizwan departs for 57.
Pakistan: 127/1 in 16 overs.
Pakistan: 122/1 in 15 overs.
Pakistan: 113/1 in 14 overs.
50 up for Rizwan in 36 balls.
Pakistan: 109/1 in 13 overs.
Four: Mohammad Haris starts off with a boundary.
WICKET: Trent Boult gets Babar. He departs for 53.
Pakistan: 102/0 in 12 overs.
100 up for Pakistan in 11.4 overs.
Babar Azam brings up his fifty in 38 balls.
Pakistan: 97/0 in 11 overs.
Four: Babar thumps it over mid-wicket for another boundary.
Pakistan: 87/0 in 10 overs.
Four: Babar Azam glides Ish Sodhi through point.
Pakistan: 75/0 in 9 overs.
Pakistan: 68/0 in 8 overs.
Pakistan: 63/0 in 7 overs.
Four: Babar Azam batters it through the backward square.
Pakistan: 55/0 in 6 overs.
50 up for Pakistan.
Four: Babar Azam's top edge rolls down to the boundary.
Pakistan: 47/0 in 5 overs.
Four: Babar Azam joins the party. He slams Tim Southee through mid-wicket.
Four: Another boundary on the leg side.
Four: Rizwan slaps it through mid-wicket.
Pakistan: 32/0 in 4 overs.
Four: Babar Azam drives Ferguson for a boundary.
Pakistan: 24/0 in 3 overs.
Four: Rizwan cuts Boult over cover four another boundary.
Four: Rizwan glances Boult down the leg.
Four: Babar Azam cuts Trent Boult for a boundary.
Pakistan: 9/0 in 2 overs.
Pakistan 7/0 in 1 over.
D
The New Zealand captain was finally undone by an Afridi yorker after a 42-ball knock that yielded only two boundaries before Mitchell and Jimmy Neesham, who scored 16, added 29 runs in the final three overs.
New Zealand innings
New Zealand: 152/4 in 20 overs.
150 up for New Zealand
New Zealand: 144/4 in 19 overs.
Daryl Mitchell brings up his half-century.
Four: Neesham scores a boundary.
New Zealand: 133/4 in 18 overs.
Four: Mitchell pumps Naseem's slower ball over cover.
New Zealand: 123/4 in 17 overs.
WICKET: Shaheen Afridi gets Williamson. He departs for 46.
New Zealand: 116/3 in 16 overs.
New Zealand: 106/3 in 15 overs.
100 up for New Zealand in 14.3 overs.
Four: Mitchell scores a boundary off Wasim.
New Zealand: 99/3 in 14 overs.
Six: Williamson hits another six, this time to Shadab.
New Zealand: 90/3 in 13 overs.
SIX: Williamson wallops Mohammad Wasim Jr for a massive six.
New Zealand: 81/3 in 12 overs.
New Zealand: 73/3 in 11 overs.
Four: Mitchell pumps it straight to long-on. Another boundary.
Four: Mitchell cuts Shadab, and earns himself a boundary.
New Zealand: 59/3 in 10 overs.
New Zealand: 52/3 in 9 overs.
50 up for New Zealand in 8.2 overs.
New Zealand: 49/3 in 8 overs.
WICKET: Nawaz gets Glenn Phillips on the last ball of his over. He departs for 6.
New Zealand: 44/2 in 7 overs.
Four: Glenn Phillips cuts Shadab Khan for a boundary.
New Zealand: 38/2 in 6 overs.
WICKET: Bull's eye! Devon Conway run-out.
Four: Conway hits Rauf over cover for a boundary.
New Zealand: 30/1 in 5 overs.
New Zealand: 23/1 in 4 overs.
New Zealand: 19/1 in 3 overs.
New Zealand: 14/1 in 2 overs.
Four: This time, thumped to the leg side.
Four: Devon Conway belts it through mid-wicket.
New Zealand: 6/1 in 1 over.
WICKET: Shaheen Afridi traps Fin Allen LBW. He departs for 4.
The Blacks Caps, who topped Group 1, are aiming to make the final for the second consecutive time as they target a maiden T20 title.
Like New Zealand, Group 2 runners-up Pakistan are in the semis for a second straight year as they look to add to their 2009 World Cup triumph.
The winner will face either England or India -- who meet in Adelaide on Thursday -- in Sunday's final.
Team updates
Both captains confirmed at the toss that they are going with an unchanged side in the all-important game.
Pakistan: 1 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 2 Babar Azam (capt), 3 Mohammad Haris, 4 Shan Masood, 5 Iftikhar Ahmed, 6 Shadab Khan, 7 Mohammad Nawaz, 8 Mohammad Wasim Jr, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Shaheen Afridi
New Zealand: 1 Finn Allen, 2 Devon Conway (wk), 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Glenn Phillips, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Jimmy Neesham, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Tim Southee, 9 Ish Sodhi, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Trent Boult