Pakistan group have terribly managed to enter the semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2022 and will now face Kane Williamson’s New Zealand on the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday (November 9). Skipper Babar Azam goes by a tough patch with the bat, scoring solely 39 runs in 5 matches up to now at a strike-rate far lower than 100. However, batting coach Matthew Hayden asserted on the eve of the primary semifinal that prolific opening duo of Babar and Mohammad Rizwan will proceed to open the innings for Pakistan.
While Azam and Rizwan are Pakistan’s primary opening pair, their below-par exhibiting right here has prompted specialists to ask the group administration to push the captain down the batting order, however Hayden stated their expertise of absorbing the stress in big-match conditions makes them the best candidates to open the innings.
(*4*) stated Hayden in the pre-match press convention in Sydney on Tuesday (November 8).
Team __ arrives in Sydney __#WeHaveWeWill | #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/LjIu1Hy1Mv
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) November 7, 2022
“If you remember that last match against Sri Lanka, he went on to score an incredible hundred and realised his potential in that tournament and awakened the world once again to the fact that he was such a premium batsman in that format of the game. It’s always nice to have two players that have felt the pressure, and we all feel the pressure at any given times in our career. No different for the number one combination, no different for the number four ranked T20 player in Babar,” added Hayden.
There have been options that Mohammad Haris, who has been in sensational kind since he was drafted into the aspect for the Super 12 game in opposition to South Africa might be promoted up the order in opposition to the Kiwis however that plan has been shot down for now.
Expressing his confidence in the batting skills of the 2 top-order batters, Hayden, himself a legendary Australian opener, stated ‘special players don’t typically keep down for lengthy’. “And don’t be surprised whatsoever if you don’t see some fireworks because very special players,” he stated.
Pakistan vs New Zealand T20 World Cup 2022 Semifinal Predicted Playing 11
Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Haris, Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah
New Zealand: Devon Conway (wk), Finn Allen, Kane Williamson (c), Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson
