ICC T20 World Cup 2022 | Who will win – Semi Final Match Preview – Pak vs NZ
The month-long T20 tournament has come to a climax. From now on, it is going to be three continuous knockout matches. Particularly, both Pakistan & New Zealand played to their strengths to get the semifinal spot.
Let’s find out who has a better chance of winning the ticket to the T20 World Cup finals.
Pakistan will face New Zealand in the 1st semifinal of the T20 world cup 2022. The match is on 9th November at 1:30 PM.
This will have high hopes and higher energy. The points table is no more a reference point. The team that wins will go to the finals (November 13).
Strengths of Players: Pak vs NZ (New Zealand vs Pakistan)
Before we move on to the weaknesses, let’s focus on the strengths of Pakistan key players.
Pakistan cricket Team has a great bowling lineup
For Pakistan Cricket team, the core strength lies in their bowling. The bowlers took an average of 8 wickets in all the matches they played. (6 wickets against India, 8 wickets each against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe and 9 wickets each against South Africa and Netherlands.)
They have key players using the abilities of their pace, swing and spin. In Sydney Cricket Ground, Melbourne Cricket ground and even Adelaide Oval, they perform well. The pitch report has become less important for their bowlers. In all their Super 12 matches, they performed consistently.
Pakistan cricket Team has a better middle-order
The middle-order of Pakistan was crucial in all the matches the team won. Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed and Shadab Khan perform consistently.
They keep the run rate stable in the middle. They provide a better position for the tail-enders. Then the tail-enders will come and accelerate the run rate at the end. We can also add Mohammad Nawaz to this list.
New Zealand Cricket team has 4 key performers in batting.
Though some feel that New Zealand is a surprise addition to the semifinal list, they are a complete team. It is because of their unpredictable performances.
Devon Conway got 92 scores in the first match. Fin Allen provided good starts twice, Phillips got a brilliant century and Williamson is in form. Even if one of them gets going, NZ has a better chance of setting up a good score.
New Zealand cricket team has a balanced bowling lineup
Very similar to the Pakistan team, NZ has a good bunch of bowlers who can swing and utilize the track. The bowling unit of NZ team took 8.75 wickets on average in all the matches they played. (All 10 wickets against Australia, all 10 wickets against Sri Lanka, 6 wickets against England and 9 wickets against Ireland)
Weakness of Players: Pak vs NZ
For winning the next two knockout matches, both teams need support from their batting, bowling and fielding units.
Pakistan team has a disappointing performance from its openers
With the middle-order strength and bowling prowess, the Pak team flourishes. However, we can’t ignore the substandard performances of both Rizwan and Babar Azam.
At least once, Rizwan got 49. Babar Azam hasn’t scored more than 30 yet. He scored 0 against India, 4 against Zimbabwe, 4 against Netherlands, 6 against South Africa and 25 (33 balls) against Bangladesh.
These openers got 6 single digits so far in the world cup series (together). These two batters didn’t score a 50 yet.
Notably, Rizwan and Babar are the world’s No.1 and No.3 T20 batsmen respectively (ahead of this T20 world cup).
Consistent batting performance is required from New Zealand
New Zealand team has performers from all the departments. However, it is not the same player or the same set of players who perform consistently.
Both the openers of NZ scored well in one or two matches; they didn’t do so consistently. Allen is like Rohit Sharma these days. Phillips had shown his abilities through a fantastic 100; he didn’t do it consistently.
Only Kane Williamson is in prime form with consistency in performance. They need at least one player like Virat Kohli or Suryakumar Yadav or Hardik Pandya.
In the bowling unit, Trent Boult, Ish Sodhi and Tim Southee are the main bowlers.
Who will win the match? Pak vs NZ Today Match Prediction
Based on Fun88 prediction for Pak vs NZ, today New Zealand has a slightly better chance of winning the semifinal.
However, the toss and weather conditions play a huge role. Toss prediction will be a huge aspect of this match.
If Rizwan and Babar live up to expectations, it is going to be a match of probabilities.
Find out the predictions for the next semifinal as well on Fun88 India.
