New Zealand vs Pakistan, T20 World Cup 2022: Key match-ups

On Wednesday, November 9 at Sydney Cricket Ground, the first semi-final of the T20 World Cup will feature New Zealand versus Pakistan. Pakistan was given an easy route to advance to the semifinals on Sunday, November 6 after the Netherlands defeated South Africa by a score of 13 runs. To advance to the last four, the Men in Green defeated Bangladesh by a margin of five wickets. In the recently finished tri-nation series, which also included Bangladesh and took place just before the T20 World Cup, New Zealand and Pakistan faced off three times. Pakistan triumphed twice, including in the tri-series final. The match promises to be a thriller, let us look at some key match-ups.

Glenn Philips vs Shadab Khan

Glenn Phillips, who is an essential member of New Zealand’s batting lineup, is in charge of accelerating scoring in the middle overs. In the current competition, he has 195 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 163.87, including a century against Sri Lanka. The second-best bowling average for Pakistan in the competition is held by Shadab Khan, who has excelled in the middle overs (10 wickets). In T20 Internationals, Phillips has scored 63 runs off 37 balls whereas Shadab has only once in six encounters got Philips out.

Read More: T20 World Cup 2022: 3 Upsets in the Super 12 stage of the tournament

Rizwan vs Southee

Despite being the second-highest run-scorer in 2022, the Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman has struggled in the Super 12. In 23 innings, Mohammad Rizwan has scored 924 runs at a strike rate of 122.70 in 2022.
In the T20 World Cup 2022 though, Rizwan has only amassed 103 runs in five games while maintaining a strike rate of 100.00. With 129 wickets taken in 104 matches, New Zealand bowler Tim Southee leads the format in wicket-taking. In the competition, he has been responsible for seven dismissals, with an average of 12.1 and a 6.35 economy rate. Rizwan has been dismissed by Southee twice, including once last month during the tri-series. The Pakistani player has a 100-strike rate and has never hit a six against Southee.

Babar Azam VS Micheal Bracewell

New Zealand may play Bracewell in place of Ish Sodhi. Babar has a terrible record against Bracewell and since he has struggled to get going in the competition it won’t be a bad idea to play him. SCG has not favoured pacers much so Bracewell can start the innings as well. Bracewell should also play because he has gotten Babar out twice in 15 balls.