March 15, 2024

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T20 World Cup Pakistan Stun New Zealand to Reach Final

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T20 World Cup Pakistan stun New Zealand to reach final

After thrashing New Zealand in Sydney by seven wickets, Pakistan advanced to the Men’s T20 World Cup final.

In their opening stand of 105 runs, Pakistan’s Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan set the team up for an incredible victory as they chased down 153 to win.

At a charged SCG, Pakistan fans went wild as Shan Masood scored the winning runs with five balls remaining.

Prior to that, New Zealand came back from 49-3 to post 152-4 as Daryl Mitchell hit an unbeaten half-century.

In the Sunday final in Melbourne, Pakistan will now take on either England or India, who play each other on Thursday.

Pakistan has made an incredible comeback after losing their first two matches in the tournament to rivals India and then Zimbabwe.

They were given hope by the Netherlands’ unexpected victory over South Africa, but now they are only one game away from winning their second T20 World Cup.

“The team continued its recent three victories of excellent play today. I want to thank the crowd, it feels like we are playing at home,” said Captain Babar of Pakistan.

“While we will relish this occasion, we must also keep our attention on the end goal.”

T20 World Cup Pakistan stun New Zealand to reach final

Pakistan Hoping to Emulate Their Class of 92

Pakistan had a terrible tournament debut, but they now seem to be on an almost unstoppable roll as they try to repeat their triumph at the 1992 50-over World Cup in Australia, which Imran Khan led to victory.

They also had a terrible start to that competition, dropping their first three group matches, but they experienced a dramatic turnaround that saw them defeat England in the championship game after defeating New Zealand in the semifinals.

They ride the crest of a wave fueled by their boisterous, fervent supporters, who once opposed gathered in large numbers, and there appears to be a similar sense of destiny here.

Babar and Rizwan, who have struggled with consistency this tournament but finally delivered when it mattered, had a fantastic start with the bat as they completely destroyed New Zealand.

When they reached 87-0 midway through the game, the Kiwi players appeared stunned. A brutal opening assault had propelled them to 55-0 after the powerplay.

“With the pitches, the new ball, and the swing, Babar and I were having trouble. But we always believed in ourselves, we always keep fighting,” said Mohammad Rizwan, who was honored as the game’s MVP.

“We wanted to play the new ball as soon as we crossed the goal line. Though we believed 150 was a good total on that pitch, we were aware of the tricky nature of the pitch and were confident that we could defeat them.”

Babar scored 53 runs off 42 balls, which was more than he had scored in his previous five World Cup innings combined. He was eventually dismissed when he attempted to hole out to Mitchell at long-on instead of hitting Boult for six.

Masood helped Pakistan cross the finish line to secure a convincing victory despite two additional late wickets, including that of Rizwan for 57 from 43 balls.

“It is just amazing. The way they’ve come back, it feels like it’s written in the stars,” said broadcaster Henry Moeran for BBC Test Match Special.

“It’s a cliché to say you never know what to expect from Pakistan, but what they’ve demonstrated today is resiliency, strength, and toughness, and when it mattered most, they pulled everything together.”

Reference: https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/63566227

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