Unpredictable Pakistan to test consistent New Zealand

Formidable New Zealand appear strong on paper but they have to defy history when they clash with an unpredictable and upbeat Pakistan in the first T20 World Cup semifinal here on WednesdayUnlike Pakistans rollercoaster and miraculous journey into the lastfour the Kiwis had a straightforward passage into the knockout stage as they finished on top of Group 1 following wins over reigning champions Australia Sri Lanka and Ireland in a group of deathBabar Azam and his team mates who had lost two key Super 12 clashes against India and Zimbabwe up front were probably thinking of their departure plans when the Netherlands favoured them by eliminating South Africa on a dramatic SundayAll Pakistan had to do was to beat Bangladesh in the second match of the day to make a dream semifinalIts giving a sense of deja vu as Pakistan had clashed against New Zealand in the 1992 World Cup semifinal coming from nowhere and went on to win the match and later trophyPakistan also have history backing them as New Zealand have lost all their previous World Cup semifinals to them in ODI 1992 1999 and T20 2007 formatsNew Zealands propensity to falter at the big stage of a whiteball tournament is also a no secret They have consistently reached the semis in the last four World Cups but never managed to last the distanceThe Black Caps have lost three World Cup finals in seven years 2015 2019 in ODI and 2021 in T20Under conditions better suited to them Williamson will look to strike early against the Pakistani batting lineup which has not been in its elementsSkipper Babar is still struggling while Mohammad Rizwan is also far from his ominous best They were in panic mode even while chasing a modest 128 against BangladeshAlso readShaheen Afridi shines as Pakistan end up qualifyingKiwi pace duo of Trent Boult and Tim Southee will be back at the same venue where they rattled Australia and Sri Lanka toporder en route easy wins as they would look for a strong startIncidentally Pakistan too have their strong point in their bowling and the key would be to seize the battle with the batDaryl Mitchell looked in full flow on his return from a finger injury He along with skipper their maninform Glenn Phillips would look to shoulder the responsibility in the middlePhillips has been a revelation for the Black Caps having scored a century and a halfcentury both coming in last three matchesAfter a quiet start skipper Williamson has got some runs under his belt in the last two matches as he would look to steer his side to yet another finalPakistan on the other hand would be desperate to prove that their journey to the semis is not a flukeLuck apart its Pakistans bowling superbly spearheaded by Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf that has been the instrumental in their successMaking a return from an injury layoff Shaheen has hit the straps especially in the last outing when he returned with a careerbest fourwicket haul to stall Bangladesh progressWith a fair knowledge of the conditions Rauf has been their silent assassin going about his job meticulouslySquadsNew Zealand Kane Williamson Captain Martin Guptill Finn Allen wk Glenn Phillips Mark Chapman Michael Bracewell Mitchell Santner Adam Milne Ish Sodhi Lockie Ferguson Tim Southee Devon Conway Daryl Mitchell James Neesham Trent BoultPakistan Babar Azam Captain Asif Ali Haider Ali Khushdil Shah Shan Masood Mohammad Haris Iftikhar Ahmed Shadab Khan Mohammad Nawaz Mohammad Wasim Jr Mohammad Rizwan wk Haris Rauf Mohammad Hasnain Naseem Shah Shaheen AfridiMatch starts 130pm ISTThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever