Pakistan will take on New Zealand in today's first World Cup semifinal.

 

Today (Wednesday), in the first semi-final of the ICC Men's Twenty20 World Cup at the Sydney Cricket Stadium, Pakistan will square off against New Zealand in an effort to advance to the tournament's final.

The fourth World Cup semi-final between Pakistan and the Kiwis will begin at 1pm. In the six previous encounters between the two teams during the T20 World Cup, Pakistan won four of them while New Zealand won two of them.


The second semi-final will be played on Thursday at the Adelaide Oval stadium in Adelaide between India and England.

Before the major match of the mega cricket event, the Black Caps trained in Sydney. However, the Pakistani players took rest with the exception of captain Babar Azam, who practised by himself for 1.5 hours.

Given that they have won their last three Group games, the Men in Green appear to be confident. With the same winning combination, they will compete against New Zealand. The Black Caps are also unlikely to make any roster adjustments.

Similarities to the World Cup of 1992
Pakistan faced New Zealand in the semi-final of the 1992 World Cup after putting on poor performances in the team's first three games. Pakistan also went through this world cup with the same history.


Many social media users have taken notice of these parallels. The hot topic is also being discussed in cricket circles. Matthew Hayden, the coach of the Pakistani team, too had something to say about the matter and described Pakistan as a formidable team.

The former Australian opener explicit in a very news conference on Tuesday that though it hasn't had an immediate impact, everybody understands the worth and significance.

"There wasn't a awfully sturdy performance, and {also the} event was also marred by the quirks of Pakistani cricket. Whenever a performance is questioned, Pakistan shows up unexpectedly and proves to be a formidable and dangerous force "he value-added

Pakistan

The 2009 winners' season got off to a devastating begin after they fell to India in a very last-ball drama, and that they then lost shockingly to African nation in their resulting game.

The fact that they defeated Kingdom of The Netherlands once losing four wickets in their tiny 92-run chase was barely spectacular as a result of they looked as if it would be doomed.
The Dutch helped them out by stunning South Africa, however Pakistan made an outstanding effort to thrash South Africa and restore their hopes of creating the semi-finals.

With speed spearhead Shah of Iraneen Shah Afridi came with career-best figures of 4-22, Babar Azam's squad defeated Asian nation in a very game that was virtually right down to the wire to advance to the ultimate four.


Azam's performance has been regarding latterly, though, because the opener has scored solely thirty-nine runs in his last 5 games.

New Zealand

The Black Caps' 89-run blow over the tournament's hosts and defensive champions, Australia, set the tone for his or her campaign to date.

Afghanistan's deluge didn't halt their progress. Glenn Phillips' 64-ball 104, the second century of this tourney, helped them defeat Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

New Seeland struggled to match England's one hundred eighty total however recovered to defeat the underdogs eire as captain Kane Williamson hit a quickfire sixty one.


To demonstrate however dangerous they're, the crushed finalists from last year defeated pre-tournament favourites Australia and England within the more durable of the 2 Super twelve teams.

Lineups

Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah,Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Haris Rauf are unit Pakistan's different key players.

Kane Williamson (wk), Devon Conway (c), Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, River ,Trent Boult, Ish Sodhi, and Lockie Ferguson are all New Zealand players