Pakistan VS New Zealand Semi Final No: 1

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New Zealand? Fine. When you turn up in as many semi-finals as they do, people start taking your appearance for granted. But Pakistan? They were shattered enough after losing a frankly outrageous match against India to shamble to another defeat, by one run, to Zimbabwe. Yet here Pakistan are, rudely alive and well and in the semis. How did we get here?

Because South Africa, infamously, wouldn’t know how to win when it matters even if their opposition were a team of garden gnomes. Their catastrophic performance against the Netherlands in Adelaide on Sunday opened a door that had been slammed in the Pakistanis’ faces. Or maybe a higher power was involved, as Matthew Hayden suggested on Tuesday: “There were lots of prayers as Pakistan woke up to see [the Netherlands’ 13-run win]; 232-million people can’t be wrong.”

All Pakistan had to do then to earn the right to take on New Zealand at the SCG on Wednesday was beat Bangladesh in Sunday’s second game in Adelaide, which they accomplished with a level of assurance that should make their remaining opponents queasy. Neither will it do those teams’ equilibrium much good to know that Pakistan cancelled their training session on Tuesday – we’re ready. Bring it.

But New Zealand will not be cowed by that. Especially as their big brothers, the only team who tend to dull their edge, are all up a blue-gum without a picnic basket: Australia are among the group-stage casualties in their own tournament. That leaves room to breathe for New Zealand’s creativity and toughness.

Distilled to its spirit, this match pits Pakistan’s passion against New Zealand’s canniness. The Pakistanis are a rising wave, but the Kiwis are keen surfers. The SCG is as good a beach as any to see which of them makes it to the shore unscathed.

Pakistan VS New Zealand Semi Final 

• Pakistan VS New Zealand
• Pakistan VS New Zealand Semi Final
• Pakistan VS New Zealand Semi Final No: 1