India and Paksitan had squared off in the 2007 T20 World Cup final in Johannesburg.© Twitter
One win can change the whole mood of a nation. And if it comes in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup, then the celebrations are multiplied manifold. The same has happened with Pakistan. A team that somehow scraped into the semi-finals with a tight second-place finish in Group 2, is now the first team to enter the final. In their last-four clash, Pakistan first restricted New Zealand to 152/4 on a slow SCG track and then chased down the target with consummate ease, riding on skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan’s attacking fifties to book their place in the final after 13 years.
They will meet either England or India – who play on Thursday in Adelaide –in the November 13 final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Ahead of that match, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar had a message for India.
“Hindustan, we have reached Melbourne. We are waiting for you. I wish you best of luck that you defeat England and arrive in Melbourne. It was in Melbourne that we defeated England in 1992 final. Now the year is 2022. The years are different but the numbers are same. I want a India-Pakistan final. Let’s play one more time. We need one match. The whole world is waiting with baited breath,” Shoaib Akhtar said in a video posted on his Twitter account.
Dear India, good luck for tomorrow. We’ll be waiting for you in Melbourne for a great game of cricket. pic.twitter.com/SdBLVYD6vm
— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) November 9, 2022
Pakistan last claimed the title in 2009 at Lord’s in England when they beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets, and it has been a rollercoaster ride in Australia to make another final. After agonising losses to India and Zimbabwe in the group phase, they bounced back to topple the Netherlands and South Africa.
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Then against the odds they went through when the Proteas were stunned by the Dutch and Pakistan eased past Bangladesh. New Zealand, who topped Group 1, were aiming to make the final for the second consecutive time, but their hunt for a maiden T20 title again fell short.
With AFP, PTI inputs
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