New Zealand vs Pakistan Semi Final LIVE score, T20 World Cup: NZ take on PAK in Sydney

11:36 (IST)

PAK vs NZ LIVE- Pre-match talks
"Shadab said something very significant in the dugout the other day when we were playing our last match: 'Welcome to Pakistan cricket.' Meaning that on any given day, anything can happen. And on that particular day, when the Netherlands beat South Africa, it was a significant moment for us in the tournament and a very, very significant moment for the team in reaching their potential," Matthew Hayden said.

11:34 (IST)

Pakistan have had a mixed World Cup as the Babar Azam-led side came from behind to finish at number two in their group. Having lost the first two matches in the tournament, the Asian side's chances of making it to the semis were slim. But some permutation and combination, help from rain and a huge upset helped them move ahead. South Africa's loss to Netherlands gave Pakistan as well as Bangladesh a genuine chance of making the qualification and Pakistan grabbed it with both hands as they defeated the Bangla tigers in a virtual quarter-final 

11:01 (IST)

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the first semi-final of the 2022 T20 World Cup with New Zealand facing Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday.

Preview: Pakistan will be hoping to continue their dream run in the T20 World Cup when they take on New Zealand in the first semi-final in Sydney on Wednesday.

T20 World Cup: Full coverage | Schedule | Results | Points Table | News | Photos

New Zealand, the team that had finished runners-up in an ICC event yet again last year following their defeat to Australia in the final, became the first team to qualify for the knockouts of the ongoing competition and would top of Group 1 with a much superior Net Run Rate after finishing level on points (7) with England and defending champions Australia.

Pakistan, on the other hand, snuck into the semi-finals pretty much on a last-minute basis. The team was down and out after suffering back-to-back defeats against India and Zimbabwe respectively, and were staring at the prospect of an early flight back home.

A win against Netherlands followed by a commanding performance against South Africa kept them mathematically alive, but what ultimately opened the door to the knockouts for them was Netherlands’ upset victory over the Proteas, which effectively made the Bangladesh-Pakistan encounter in Adelaide a virtual quarter-final. Shaheen Shah Afridi’s four-fer would help Pakistan hand their neighbours a five-wicket loss and secure their entry as the fourth and final team to qualify for the semi-finals.

Squads:

New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway(w), Kane Williamson(c), Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult, Martin Guptill, Adam Milne, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman.

Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan(w), Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Haris, Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Haider Ali, Asif Ali.

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