T20 World Cup 2022: Three things which might determine the fate of the New Zealand vs. Pakistan semi-final
New Zealand will face Pakistan in the first semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022 on Wednesday, November 9, in Sydney. Fans in the sub-continent will be gearing up for an India-Pakistan final, but both New Zealand and England should have other ideas.
Still, it has to be kept in mind that Pakistan usually have a good track record against New Zealand in the ICC tournaments, including their wins in the semi-finals of the 1992 and 1999 ODI World Cups. They might again do enough to topple the Kiwi applecart.
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On that note, we will take a look at three things that might determine the fate of the first semi-final:
#1 New Zealand's batters being in good touch
New Zealand have been one of the most consistent teams in the recent past in ICC tournaments and the ongoing World Cup has been no exception. Since their win against hosts Australia in their opening match, New Zealand have had relatively easy sailing in the tournament thus far.
Still, they will take heart from the fact that almost all their regular batters have got runs so far. Skipper Kane Williamson's form was a concern initially, but he has turned things around in the last couple of matches.
Glenn Phillips has been a revelation in the tournament and has impressed with his power-hitting. Openers Devon Conway and Finn Allen have also been among the runs. Conway taking up wicketkeeping duties has enabled the Kiwis to play an extra batter.
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#2 Pakistan's very strong bowling attack
However, New Zealand will be up against one of the best pace attacks in the world in their match against the south Asian side and might not find it easy to score runs freely against them. The pitch in Sydney, however, might help the spinners more and as a result, the Pakistani pacers might not get too much movement initially.
Hence, it is their ability to bowl slower deliveries and yorkers that might prove to be crucial. Shaheen Shah Afridi has found the perfect length to bowl in the last two matches and Haris Rauf has been superb with his express, yet controlled, bowling. Mohammad Wasim has also been a good addition, excelling while bowling his fast inswinging yorkers later on in the innings. Spinner Shadab Khan has also been among the wickets.
On a Sydney track conducive to spin-bowling, Babar Azam might give a few overs to Ifthikar Ahmed as well, as the latter bowled well in their last match against Bangladesh. His ability to take the pace off might come in handy on Wednesday at the big SCG.
#3 Pakistan's inconsistent batting against some disciplined Kiwi bowling
Pakistan's batting will keep Babar worried, not least because of his own form. Both Babar and opening partner Mohammad Rizwan have repeatedly failed to give Pakistan a rapid-fire start in the powerplay. They might again struggle to do so against the pace of Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson.
Moreover, both Kiwi spinners Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner are in great form at the moment and will once again try to stem the flow of runs in the mid-overs in the semi-final.
Pakistan will depend a great deal on Mohammad Haris, who has played some free-flowing shots in the last two matches, to break the shackles imposed by the spinners, with the likes of Ifthikar and Shadab helping him.
Both Ifthikar and Shadab have batted reasonably well in the tournament so far and are capable of hitting big shots. The Men in Green will also rely on the patient Shan Masood, who has played consistently well in the tournament, to build their innings as the latter is quite adept at rotating the strike through ones and twos.