Irrepressible Pakistan waltz into the final
Babar Azam’s team put in a near-perfect performance to send New Zealand packing.
Pakistan are in the T20 World Cup final. Let that sink in.
They lost to Zimbabwe early in the competition and at one point in the group stage, they were 43/4 against South Africa needing a win to stay alive. And then they needed the Netherlands to beat South Africa in a later game before they themselves had to beat Bangladesh to make the semi-final. They often say one shouldn't tempt fate but Pakistan did that and survived to tell the tale. Let that sink in too.
They’ve had the rub of the green no doubt but on Wednesday, in the semi-final against New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket Ground, they didn't need a helping hand from Lady Luck as they found a level the Kiwis simply couldn't match.
New Zealand won the toss, elected to bat and hit the first ball of the innings for a four down the ground. Few things went their way after that as they ran into a locked-on Pakistan side. The Kiwis were restricted to 152/4 and then Pakistan, surprisingly, chased down the target with a fair degree of ease to win by 7 wickets with 5 balls remaining.
Shaheen Shah Afridi's first over set the tone for the match. The first ball was a gift, right in the slot and Finn Allen gave it the treatment it deserved but the NZ opener was saved by a review on the second ball and then trapped leg before off the third.
There are days when Pakistan look a little off but this wasn’t one of them. Rather, there was focus--which often goes missing from their game--and it helped them deal with the pressure, the occasion, and the opponent, in fine style.
After the fall of Allen’s wicket, Devon Conway (21) and skipper Kane Williamson (46) seemed to be getting things back on track, only for a direct hit by Shadab Khan to end the former’s innings. By the end of the 10th over, NZ were 59/3 and in desperate need of a hero.
That is when Daryl Mitchell put his hand up. Williamson was struggling to get going but the 31-year-old Mitchell showed the right kind of intent from the start, finishing unbeaten on 53 off 35 balls.
Pakistan's attack knew exactly what they needed to do on the used surface. They kept things tight and didn’t try too many things even when Mitchell went on the attack. Pakistan became the first team to play a knockout match in T20 World Cups without bowling a wide or no-ball.
New Zealand got past 150 and on a pitch that looked tricky to bat on because of its slowish nature, the quality of their attack gave them a chance; a slim chance.
Those thoughts, however, were quickly banished as skipper Babar Azam (53 off 42 balls) and Mohammad Rizwan (57 off 43) put together 55 runs in six overs, Pakistan's best powerplay of the tournament
By the time Azam was dismissed in the 13th over, Pakistan had reached 105 and the required rate had dropped below seven. It almost felt like a walk in the park.
“When we crossed the boundary line, me and Babar decided that we can attack the new ball, because we knew that the pitch was tricky, a little bit difficult, and 150 (153) was a good target on this pitch,” Rizwan said. “We decided we’re going to do hard work and attack these guys, and when we finish the powerplay, one of the guys will go deep... Alhamdulillah, Allah helped us and we succeeded.”
The plan worked like a charm, and it helped that NZ uncharacteristically didn't hold on to their chances. They dropped the Pakistan skipper in the first over and then dropped a few more during the course of the innings
“They were outstanding, we were outplayed today,” said Williamson after the game. “Credit goes to their quality--they certainly deserved their win. A tough pill for us to swallow, we certainly pride ourselves in a number of areas, strengths of ours, and didn't quite do that today.”
Pakistan can now put their feet up and watch the semi-final between England and India. Depending on which way the result goes, we could have a repeat of the 1992 ODI World Cup final or a repeat of the 2007 World T20 final. But regardless of who the opponent might be, Tuesday night ended with “Dil Dil Pakistan” reverberating around the SCG. For now, that should be enough.