T20 World Cup, New Zealand vs Pakistan semifinal as it happened: Babar Azam and Co win by 7 wickets

PAK 153/3 (19.1 overs): A solid, solid performance by Pakistan as their dream run continues Down Under. They were brilliant in the field, aggressive with the ball and clinical with the bat. Scenes of pure joy in the dugout and stands. That was a special performance by Babar Azam and Co. They will now face the winner of the second semifinal between India and England, which will be played tomorrow.

Pakistan win by 7 wickets

PAK 151/3 (19 overs): OUT! A wicket against the run of play as Mohammad Haris hits the ball straight to short-fine. Santner gets the wicket as the right-hander departs for an excellent 30 off 26. Pakistan are almost home.

PAK 145/2 (18 overs): Mohammad Haris! Brilliant batting by the right-hander as he hits a cover drive for four before pulling one for six. Lockie Ferguson bowled with speed but it didn’t matter. That should be that, Pakistan need 8 off 12.

PAK 132/2 (17 overs): OUT! Rizwan is gone. He stepped out a bit and hit a high full toss from Boult over cover and Phillips took the catch in the deep. The umpires checked the delivery for height and deemed it all right. The Kiwis had, meanwhile, completed a run-out too at the non striker’s end after the catch by Phillips. But it is counted as caught out at the end. Rizwan walks back for 57 off 43 as Shan Masood comes to the crease.

PAK 127/1 (16 overs): Dropped! Haris plays a powerful square cut and the ball goes straight to Santner, who can’t hold on to the catch. It’s been that sort of a day for the Kiwis. Southee the unlucky bowler, five runs come from that over.

PAK 122/1 (15 overs): Santner drifts down leg and Rizwan sweeps it fine for three. Nine runs come from that over. Pakistan need 31 off 30.

PAK 112/1 (13.4 overs): FIFTY for Mohammad Rizwan! He gets there off 36 balls. The right-hander has played some cracking strokes and run hard between the wickets to keep the scoreboard ticking. Pakistan would want him to bat through.

PAK 105/1 (12.4 overs): OUT! Well, a strange choice of shot by Babar and he’s on his way back. He decided to play an unnecessary hoick against Boult and is caught at long-on by Mitchell. Babar departs for 53 off 42 as Mohammad Haris comes to the crease.

PAK 102/0 (12 overs): Quiet over from Sodhi, just five singles from it. But Babar and Rizwan bring up yet another 100-run opening stand. The two right-handers have dominated this chase and will be keen to bat till the end.

PAK 97/0 (11 overs): FIFTY for Babar Azam! He gets there off 38 balls. Another glorious stroke by the Pakistan captain, Lockie banged it on and he stayed still and pulled it over mid-wicket for four. The men in green are bossing this.

PAK 87/0 (10 overs): Another classy shot from Babar. Sodhi drops it short and the right-hander cuts it in the gap for four. Big over that, 12 runs from it. Pakistan are in cruise control at the halfway stage of their innings. They need 66 off 60 with 10 wickets in hand.

PAK 75/0 (9 overs): Decent-ish over from Santner, seven runs from it. New Zealand are trying to build pressure but the Pakistan batters aren’t taking any risks for now.

PAK 68/0 (8 overs): Ish Sodhi joins the attack and bowls a much-needed quiet over for New Zealand, just five runs from it.

PAK 63/0 (7 overs): Well, another heartbreaking over for New Zealand. Santner drops one short and Babar pulls it confidently for four. The right-hander is then struck in front and Williamson takes a review but DRS shows the ball going over.

PAK 55/0 (6 overs): Nothing going the Kiwi way at the moment. Lockie bangs it in and Babar gets a top edge but it lands safely behind the keeper and runs away for four. The end of a dream powerplay for Pakistan. Santner is finally joining the attack now.

PAK 47/0 (5 overs): Another huge over! Rizwan hits Southee for consecutive fours over mid-wicket before Babar finds the gap behind square on the leg side for four. New Zealand are looking clueless at the moment and the Pakistan openers are in the zone.

PAK 32/0 (4 overs): Lockie Ferguson joins the attack and is greeted by a gorgeous Babar Azam straight drive for four. The runs are flowing for Pakistan and New Zealand are under pressure in the powerplay.

PAK 24/0 (3 overs): Big over for Pakistan! Babar cracks one past extra cover before Rizwan clips one for four and then ends the over with a blazing square cut for another four. Boult was all over the place in that over.

PAK 9/0 (2 overs): Top over by Southee, just a couple of singles. Babar looking cautious early on.

PAK 7/0 (1 over): Uff, the sound off the bat as Rizwan punches one past cover for four. And a big chance for NZ goes down. Conway, the keeper, takes one early step to his left and ends up missing the outside edge to his right. Dropped, yes, that carried for sure. There could have been a run out too there.

Target 153: Boult to Rizwan, here we go.

Not far away from the run-chase now. Rizwan and Azam make their way to the middle. This chase is right up their alley, in terms of rate as well as conditions.

NZ 152/4 (20 overs): Top last over from Naseem, just eight runs from it, and he finishes with figures of 0/30. New Zealand scored 83 runs in the last 10 overs after a strong start for Pakistan. This pitch is a bit sluggish and the outfield isn’t really fast, but Pakistan will back themselves to chase this down.

New Zealand finish with 152/4

NZ 144/4 (19 overs): FIFTY for Daryl Mitchell! The right-hander gets there off 32 balls, and has hit three fours and a six so far in his innings. Just the one boundary from the penultimate over as Haris drifts on to the pads and Neesham clips it past short-fine for four. New Zealand would want to finish close to 160.

NZ 133/4 (18 overs): Naseem bowls it wide and Mitchell drives it over cover for four. The right-hander moves on to 46 off 42. Decent over from Naseem, though, 10 runs from it.

NZ 123/4 (17 overs): A successful over for Pakistan as Shaheen bagged his second wicket of the innings. New Zealand have the righty-lefty combination of Mitchell and Neesham at the crease now. They will surely be eyeing that 160-run mark.

NZ 117/4 (16.2 overs): OUT! Shaheen strikes! The left-arm pacer bowls a slower ball and Williamson is clean bowled trying to play a scoop. The NZ skipper walks back for 46 off 42 as the fourth-wicket partnership ends for 68 runs. The new batter is Neesham.

NZ 116/3 (16 overs): Haris is brought back into the attack too and he nearly strikes. Mitchell tries to go over mid-off and luckily for him, the ball lands just ahead of Babar who was tracking back. Despite not hitting a bounday, NZ manage to pick 10 runs from that over by running hard between the wickets.

NZ 106/3 (15 overs): There was a hint of reverse swing in Mohammad Wasim’s last over, which is perhaps why Babar decides to bring Shaheen back into the attack. The left-arm pacer comes from around the wicket and angles the ball in but Williamson manages to flick it past short-fine for four. But the left-arm pacer does well to concede just three runs from the rest of the over.

NZ 99/3 (14 overs): Another six. Shadab tosses it up and Mitchell steps out to thump the ball straight over. That shot also brings up the 50-run stand between the two right-handers. Pakistan need a wicket soon as the runs are flowing.

NZ 89/3 (13 overs): First six of the match and it comes off Williamson’s bat (the first boundary of his innings). M Wasim drops it short and the right-hander plays a cracking pull. The Kiwi skipper then survives an LBW/caught behind appeal as DRS doesn’t go Pakistan’s way. New Zealand are making their move.

NZ 81/3 (12 overs): Naseem returns to the attack and concedes eight runs in his second over. Williamson continuing to show great urgency in his running, not so much in his strokeplay.

NZ 73/3 (11 overs): Big over for New Zealand as Mitchell goes after Shadab. The right-hander cuts one for four through the gap before coming down the track and lifting the ball straight for four.

NZ 59/3 (10 overs): New Zealand get to the halfway stage of their innings with another boundary-less over. They’re running hard between wickets but need a bit more than that. Nawaz has settled into a nice rhythm.

NZ 52/3 (9 overs): Another excellent over for Pakistan as Shadab concedes just three runs. Williamson needs to get a move on here, he’s batting on 20 off 21 with no boundary yet.

NZ 49/3 (8 overs): OUT! Nawaz joins the attack and gets the big wicket of Phillips in his first over. The right-hander hits the ball straight back and the left-arm spinner accepts the catch. New Zealand in deep trouble now and the Pakistani players are pumped. Phillips walks back for 6 off 8 as Daryl Mitchell comes to the crease.

NZ 44/2 (7 overs): Phillips gets going with a square-cut for four, but Shadab does well to concede just six runs in the over.

NZ 38/2 (6 overs): OUT! Another superb piece of fielding and it’s that man Shadab again. Conway punches the ball straight to him at mid-off and is run-out after a direct hit at the non-striker’s end. Poor decision by the left-hander to attempt such a tight single after playing the ball to Pakistan’s best fielder. He walks back for 21 off 20 as the in-form Glenn Phillips comes to the crease. The powerplay has ended and Pakistan definitely have the edge. Shadab is now coming on to bowl.

NZ 30/1 (5 overs): Another boundary-less over for New Zealand. Great commitment by Haris Rauf after bowling an over, he puts in a dive at short-fine to stop a certain boundary. Mohammad Wasim Jr concedes six runs in his first over.

NZ 23/1 (4 overs): Brilliant fielding by Shadab at mid-on. Williamson with a gorgeous on-drive that looked like a certain boundary but Shadab put in a full-length dive after running across. Good start by Haris, just four runs from his first over. New Zealand being pegged back nicely.

NZ 19/1 (3 overs): Testing over by Afridi, again. Williamson plays a confident drive through cover for three before the left-arm pacer troubles Conway by mixing up his lengths nicely.

NZ 14/1 (2 overs): Another eventful over. Naseem does well to keep Conway quiet before dropping one short and getting pulled for four. The left-hander then nearly plays on as the ball rolls inches wide of the leg stump. But the over ends with another four for Conway, with a drive over mid-wicket.

NZ 4/1 (0.3 overs): OUT! What a start! Finn Allen begins the match with a thumping straight drive for four. The right-hander is then given out LBW but the review shows an inside-edge. But Shaheen Afridi strikes the pad again off the next ball, another wonderful in-swinger, and this time DRS shows three reds. The Pakistan fans rejoice!

1.29 pm: The national anthems are done, the SCG is buzzing, and the players have taken the field for the first ball. Finn Allen and Devon Conway are at the crease for New Zealand, Shaheen Afridi has the new ball in hand for Pakistan. The start, as always, will be crucial. Which team will advance to the final? Let’s find out!

Playing XIs

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.

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.

TOSS: Kane Williamson has won the toss and New Zealand will bat first.

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 semifinal between New Zealand and Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

It’s the first semifinal of the tournament and it promises to be a cracker. New Zealand topped Group 1 and will be confident of another strong show, while Pakistan advanced from Group 2 after a dramatic last day of the Super 12 stage. Babar Azam and Co are on a three-match win streak and have the firepower to beat any team on their day, but Kane Williamson’s side will start as slight favourites today.

T20 World Cup, Semifinal 1 preview: New Zealand’s stability against Pakistan’s perfect storm

Squads

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

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