New Zealand and Pakistan are all set to take on each other in the first semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022 tomorrow at the famed Sydney Cricket Ground.
New Zealand has demonstrated their passion throughout the tournament whereas Pakistan mostly rode on their fortune.
New Zealand marched to the semi as the champions of Group 1 in the Super 12 stage where they beat Australia, Sri Lanka and Ireland, and lost to England. The other match against Afghanistan ended with no result due to bad weather.
READ: T20 World Cup 2022: Semifinalists, fixtures, venues, H2H records, probable lineups
And Pakistan, on the other hand, experienced a dramatic run in the Super 12 stage. They lost close matches to India and Zimbabwe and were on the verge of elimination. But the Netherlands had created a great opportunity for them by beating South Africa.
That historic win of the Netherlands transformed the Super 12 clash between Bangladesh and Pakistan into a virtual quarter-final in which Pakistan defeated the Bangladesh team, and progressed to the semi-final.
Now, the South Asian giants are eager to pass the New Zealand challenge to advance to the final of T20 World Cup 2022.
The semi-final came as a golden chance for New Zealand as well. Who have played three World Cup finals before and failed to win any of them. Now, once again, they are upbeat to book a final berth and clinch the title.
Read: Will Bangladesh directly qualify for 2024 T20 World Cup?
Both New Zealand and Pakistan are unbeaten at the Sydney Cricket Ground. New Zealand beat the hosts Australia on this ground while Pakistan dealt with South Africa.
Ahead of tomorrow’s semi-final, New Zealand played three T20 World Cup semi-finals before and won only one of them while Pakistan played five T20 World Cup semi-finals and won two of them.
The match will begin at 2pm (Bangladesh time) on Wednesday.
The second semi-final will be played between the other South Asian giant India and current 50-over champions England on Thursday at 2pm (Bangladesh time) at Adelaide Oval in Adelaide.