Babar, Rizwan fifties power Pakistan to third T20 World Cup final

Led by half-centuries from Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan powered to the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022, at the back of a dominating all-round display against New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket ground, where they registered a seven-wicket win, on Wednesday (November 9).

In a nut shell

Electing to bat, New Zealand were restricted to 152 for 4 on a slow, turning pitch, despite Daryl Mitchell’s unbeaten 35-ball 53. Run-scoring was difficult and against a disciplined bowling attack and a spirited fielding performance, New Zealand managed to score only 10 boundaries and two sixes.

In response, Pakistan asserted their dominance early on with a 105-run opening stand between Babar and Rizwan, with both the batters stroking fifties. Even as New Zealand managed to pull Pakistan back slightly towards the end, Babar’s side managed to reach the target with five balls to spare.

Did Pakistan dominate right from the start?

Yes, they did. A quintessential Shaheen Afridi first over where Finn Allen’s pads were always under threat with the incoming delivery. An inside edge saved him once but Afridi had the pads hitting the middle of middle stump eventually.

Kane Williamson and Devon Conway’s cautious approach allowed the Pakistan pacers to be on the offensive at all times, and yet escape not have to prove expensive. By the end of the powerplay, they had conceded only 38 runs, losing Conway to a fine throw by Shadab Khan off the last ball, which caught him short of the crease.

Was there any revival in the middle overs?

Williamson and Mitchell added 68 runs for the fourth wicket but not before losing Glenn Phillips early, offering Mohammad Nawaz an easy return catch. On the used pitch that was slow and low and turned considerably, with the bowlers operating cleverly to the dimensions of the field – ranging from 65 to 80 meters – run scoring wasn’t easy. The harder the batters tried, the more they struggled.

Despite that, Mitchell and Williamson – who combined to stroke only 4 boundaries and 2 sixes in 77 balls – managed to pick 33 runs from Shadab Khan’s spell, the most expensive figures for the leggie in this tournament. While Mitchell kept picking the twos and score at fairly decent pace, Williamson struggled to go too far beyond run-a-ball before eventually falling in the 17th over while looking to play a scoop and getting cleaned up by Afridi.

Neesham and Mitchell picked some quick runs towards the end, adding 35 runs in the last 22 balls, with the latter bringing up his half-century to help New Zealand to a slightly below-par 152 for 4.

Did Pakistan struggle in the chase?

Certainly not at the start.

Quite unlike New Zealand, they asserted their dominance with the bat in the powerplay, an approach that Rizwan stated was intentional given that the pitch was expected to slow down. It could have been a different story had Conway pouched the outside edge induced by Boult when Babar was yet to get off the mark. But that opportunity was lost, so was the the opportunity to run him off the next ball.

After a couple of quiet overs, Babar and Rizwan cut loose against Lockie Ferguson in the third over, stroking him for three boundaries. While Babar struggled early on, Rizwan kept a healthy scoring rate. By the end of the powerplay, Pakistan had wiped off 55 runs from the target and even Babar had found his groove.

Even as there was turn and the pitch was slow, Babar and Rizwan had adjusted well to the conditions and the pace and went on to stitch a 105-run stand in 76 balls before Babar holed out to long on.

Could New Zealand find a way back after that?

To an extent, yes.

Mohammad Haris was troubled by the slower balls and failed to make adequate connections. Off the first 17 balls, several edged, he managed to score only 17 runs. To complicate matters, Rizwan fell while attempting to free his arms and slash at an angling away delivery from Boult, caught at deep point. It brought the game down to 21 runs in the last three overs, and then further reduced to 19 in 15 – with a new batter and a struggling Haris in the middle. However, a couple of clean hits from Haris – a drive through extra cover for a boundary and a pull for a six, brought the equation down to 8 runs from the last two overs.

Mitchell Santner bowled a fine penultimate over, created three wicket-taking opportunities – before having Haris dismissed off the final ball, but left Pakistan with needing only two off the last over.

Brief Scores: New Zealand 152/4 in 20 overs (Daryl Mitchell 53, Kane Williamson 46; Shaheen Afridi 2-24) lost to Pakistan 153/3 in 19.1 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 57, Babar Azam 53; Trent Boult 2-33) by 7 wickets.