T20 World Cup 2022: Pakistan outplay Kiwis in every department

Pakistans cricketers are cheered by supporters as they celebrate after victory in the ICC men's Twenty20 World Cup 2022 semi-final cricket match between New Zealand and Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Sydney on Wednesday.

Pakistan put on a brilliant show at the SCG as they romped to yet another T20 World Cup final by beating New Zealand on Wednesday. After winning the toss and batting first, New Zealand scored 152/4 after struggling for most of the innings. Daryl Mitchell (53* of 35) and Kane Williamson (46 of 42) came to the Kiwis' rescue after the top order struggled against the crafty Pakistan bowling unit.

In the second innings, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan finally stitched a partnership they were known for as both hit 50s to guide their team to an easy win. Azam's 50 was especially crucial as the captain had only scored 39 runs in the tournament before the semifinal.

Let us look at some of the talking points as Pakistan confirms its travel to Melbourne for the title clash on Sunday.

1) The pitch The Sydney wicket has historically been known to be one of the slower playing surfaces Down Under and the Pakistan side made full use of it. While the SCG did host the only two 200+ scores of the tournament, today was a different story.

After the initial opening overs, the Pakistani quicks varied their pace as the Kiwi batsmen struggled to cope with the change in delivery speeds. The struggle was evident as New Zealand held itself back in the powerplay overs and huffed and puffed to 59/3 at the halfway mark.

Sydney’s pitch looks difficult for batting, ball is not coming on to the bat. Stroke play isn’t easy for the batsmen,130 or 140 can be a fighting score. #PakvsNz

— Mirza Iqbal Baig (@mirzaiqbal80) November 9, 2022

It was the exact opposite in the second innings though as Pakistan raced to 87/0 after 10 overs and never looked back from then.

The Pakistani bowlers made better use of the conditions and never gave anything away freebies to New Zealand. The dot-ball pressure saw the Kiwi batsmen reluctant to take any chances as the first 10 overs only produced five boundaries and no sixes.

The first six came in the first ball of the 13th over via Williamson and Mitchell added one more a couple of overs later. There were no more sixes and only 10 boundaries in the innings. This was a stark contrast to how New Zealand batted on the opening day, against Australia, as it smashed 15 boundaries and 8 sixes in the same venue on October 22.

Pakistan's bowling and Powerplay batting will get all the plaudits but they've kept the charge on during the classic 'slowdown' phase after the Powerplay too. 32-0 in Overs 7-10 today - Pakistan have scored at a faster rate in this phase in only 3 of their 24 T20Is this year. — Kieran (@kieran_cricket) November 9, 2022

Another differentiating factor between the two teams was the quality of ground fielding. The Pakistani fielders looked more motivated and energised on the field today as they backed the bowlers' pressure with some brilliant fielding. The highlight of Pakistan's fielding was Devon Conway's run out. In the last ball of the powerplay, the left-handed opener hit to mid-off and set off for a single. Shadab Khan ran in, picked up the ball and fired a quick release that crashed into the non-striker's stumps and caught Conway short off his ground.

A direct hit from Shadab Khan, Conway is run out!

Follow live: https://t.co/wkkhFeNTxh#NZvPAK#T20WorldCuppic.twitter.com/g8atJYpmtO — Cricket Pakistan (@cricketpakcompk) November 9, 2022

In contrast to that, the Kiwi fielders dropped three catches, including one of Babar Azam, which would have sent the Pakistani captain back to the dugout for a golden duck.

The only bright spark in today's game for New Zealand was Daryl Mitchell. He came into bat in a difficult situation, with the score reading 49/3 after 8 overs, and provided much-needed acceleration that helped New Zealand put up a fighting total.

72*(47) in the 2021 T20 WC Semi. 53*(35) in the 2022 T20 WC Semi. Take a bow, Daryl Mitchell. pic.twitter.com/Xe7eACOZKc — Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) November 9, 2022

He produced the goods in yet another semifinal for New Zealand, playing the perfect foil to Williamson, who was struggling to find the boundaries. He also looked sharp on the field, as he caught Babar Azam, but alas it wasn't meant to be.

Have the Netherlands just decided this year's T20 World Cup champion?

Before the final round of Group 2 fixtures, Pakistan was looking at an early exit from the tournament. In addition to beating Bangladesh, it also needed other results going its way, especially an unlikely Netherlands win over South Africa.

Netherlands turned this WT20 upside down & walked away

— arfan (@Im__Arfan) November 9, 2022

However, the Netherlands shocked the world, much to Pakistan's delight, and beat South Africa, which helped Pakistan confirm a semifinal place after its win against Bangladesh.

What a beautiful moment between the captains of Netherlands & Pakistan. They got us into the semifinals. We ensured their entry into next T20 World Cup. pic.twitter.com/FC13lteSwN — Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) November 6, 2022

Judging by Wednesday's performance, Babar Azam and Co. look very motivated to achieve ultimate glory and they will have the Dutch side to thank for. The Men in Green have reached the final of the tournament, which looked and sounded impossible after they had lost to Zimbabwe in their second group game.