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New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won the all-important toss and elected to bat first in the first semi-final of the 2022 T20 World Cup at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on November 09 (Wednesday). Both Williamson and Babar Azam went with the same playing XI that featured in their respective teams last Super-12 stage match.
New Zealand (Playing XI): Finn Allen, Devon Conway(w), Kane Williamson(c), Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult.
Pakistan (Playing XI): Mohammad Rizwan(w), Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Haris, Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi.
The Kiwis had a straight path to the semis after finishing atop Group 1 with wins over reigning champions Australia, Sri Lanka and Ireland. But Pakistan should count themselves lucky after qualifying despite losing their first two group-stage matches.
They were eventually handed a lifeline by the Netherlands, who defeated South Africa in what is considered the biggest upset of the campaign. They then beat Bangladesh in their final Group 2 match, to join India, England, and their foes in the semis, New Zealand.
The match is reminiscent of Pakistan's clash against New Zealand in the 1992 World Cup semifinal, as the side beat the favourites New Zealand, eventually also winning the trophy.
Pakistan also have a great record against New Zealand in the World Cups, with the Kiwis having lost all their previous World Cup semifinals to them in ODI (1992, 1999) and T20I (2007) formats.
New Zealand's propensity to falter at the big stage of a white-ball tournament is also a no secret. They have consistently reached the semis in the last four World Cups but never managed to last the distance. The Black Caps have lost three World Cup finals in seven years (2015, 2019 in ODI and 2021 in T20I).
