Mercurial Pakistan face consistent New Zealand in T20 World Cup semifinal
Wednesday’s T20 World Cup last four tie in Sydney will be between a team that can ride the crest or plumb the depths and one that has reaped rewards of staying steady
If there was a theme to the first T20 World Cup semi-final at Sydney on Wednesday, it would arguably be consistency versus unpredictability. New Zealand, who made the final of the 2015 and 2019 ODI World Cups and won the inaugural ICC Test Championship, are now in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup for the third edition running (2016, 2021 and 2022).
Pakistan, T20 champions in 2009 and runners-up in 2007, are a far more difficult side to gauge. When they get on a run, they are hard to stop, they play with jazba; with emotion and that cuts both ways. The mercurial nature of Pakistan cricket embraces the extremes--they can be very good but also very poor. It could depend simply on which side of the bed they got off, on a spell or the weather or something that was said. As with all Pakistan teams, you need to wait and watch. New Zealand will know and so will Pakistan.
On the eve of the game, Pakistan batting mentor Matthew Hayden was asked to describe the rollercoaster ride and he replied quoting Shadab Khan, the all-rounder whose vital 52 against South Africa has proved the pick-me-up his side has needed.
“Shadab said something very significant in the dugout the other day when we were playing our last match. He said ‘Welcome to Pakistan cricket’,” said the former Australia opener. “Meaning on any given day, anything can happen. And on that particular day, when Netherlands beat South Africa, it was a significant moment for us in the tournament and a very, very significant moment for the team in general in reaching that potential.”
Hayden added: “As a result, I feel there was very much an uplifting tempo in our group, which made that match against Bangladesh almost a certainty for Pakistan. It’s been a rollercoaster ride, but I wouldn't have it any other way because the last World Cup we went into, we were undefeated and Australia pipped us in the semi-final. So, it is really significant for Pakistan.”
While Pakistan will hope to ride the wave, Kane Williamson’s New Zealand will look to do what they always do--stay calm, focus on processes. In a tournament dotted with upsets, NZ have stayed steady.
“For us, it’s just focusing on our cricket,” said Williamson. “As we’ve seen, all teams can beat each other and it’s definitely a pretty exciting event. You’re going through it trying to adjust to conditions as quickly as possible, make those changes to the different opposition and really go out and try and express yourselves. It’s been nice that we’ve been able to see that throughout this competition. We certainly want to be doing that again."
Things though are hardly that simple in T20, certainly not when Pakistan are involved.
“We’ve gone about our cricket in a pretty unique way,” said Hayden. “We’ve had Shaheen (Afridi), who came in with some injuries and now is starting. Through bowling efforts, he’s starting to really hit his straps. We’ve four quicks. They’re all significant players in their own right. Wasim Junior, the potential, the youngest of those, but Naseem as well, who the last match here against South Africa bowled beautifully. Batting, whilst it hasn’t gone absolutely to plan, it’s meant that our middle-order players have had to step up and young Haris has been one of those... but I really believe yet with our best game, which is a huge threat to our opposition.”
That is the thing. When Pakistan play lights out cricket, there are few who can match them and that is what New Zealand must be wary of. The Kiwis have been pretty good themselves but no player really stands out. Glenn Phillips tops their batting charts Finn Allen was impressive in a couple of games but hasn't made starts count and Williamson seemed to be peaking. Wickets too have been equally divided--Tim Southee (7), Mitchell Santner (8), Ish Sodhi (6), Trent Boult (6) and Lockie Ferguson (7)--and everyone, as shown by their superb economy rates, is in fine rhythm. If anything, bowling has given the Kiwis the edge so far.
“They’re experienced players for us,” said Williamson about the bowlers. “They’ve played for us a long time, whether that’s taking wickets or, in particular, adjusting to conditions which certainly we need them to come to tournaments, world events, and that’s a big part of playing. So, they’ve been outstanding. And we’re at another venue against another opposition; we'll have to make those adjustments again.”
At the end of the day, T20 cricket has a wonderful way of throwing all predictions into the bin, just because someone’s had a fantastic day. Everything that has happened until now doesn’t really matter if you fail on the day.
It’s not just a test of skill-sets under pressure, but also a test of innovation. New Zealand have somehow found a formula that has worked for them so far while Pakistan might very well cook something up while the match is on. That is the nature of the beast, and that is precisely why we can’t wait for the madness to resume.