The ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup has now reached its business end. The first semifinal of the tournament will be taking place on Wednesday (November 9) between New Zealand and Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground. New Zealand made it to the semifinal after standing in 1st place in Group 1 ahead of the likes of England and defending champions Australia.
Pakistan, on the other hand, has miraculously made it to the knockouts of the competition. Their hopes of progressing ahead of the group looked all but over after they began their campaign with losses against India and Zimbabwe. However, they made a strong comeback with three back-to-back wins, and with results also going their way, they made it to the semifinal.
Pakistan is high on confidence and will be looking to make the most of it. New Zealand, however, knows what it takes to win a pressure game. In recent times, the Black Caps have done really well in ICC tournaments and their knockout matches and they will be looking to make the most of their experience.
New Zealand
Glenn Phillips played a match-winning knock of 64-ball 104 against Sri Lanka at the SCG, which was also where Devon Conway made an unbeaten 92 off 58 against Australia. Tim Southee’s economy rate of 2.76 off 2.1 overs in the Australia game is the best in the tournament at this venue. Southee also kept the damage down to 3.00 bowling his full quota against Sri Lanka in Sydney.
Probable XI: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson (capt), Glenn Phillips, Daryll Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult
Pakistan
The partnership of 82 runs that Iftikhar Ahmed and Shadab Khan shared off 36 balls against the Proteas at the same venue was a clear statement of Pakistan’s intent to go a long way in the competition, regardless of their earlier results. Shadab’s 2/16 in the same match was also vital to Pakistan’s success.
Probable XI: Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Haris, Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi
Fantasy XI Suggestion 1:
Mohammad Rizwan, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Glenn Phillips, Babar Azam, Mitchell Santner, Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Shaheen Afridi
Fantasy XI Suggestion 2:
Devon Conway, Finn Allen, Mohammad Rizwan, Kane Williamson, Babar Azam, Shan Masood, Shadab Khan, Mitchell Santner, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson, Shaheen Afridi
