New Zealand Opt to Bat First against Pakistan in 1st Semifinal

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won the toss and elected to bat first against Pakistan in the first semifinal of the T20 World Cup at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) today.

Both teams fielded an unchanged XI that played the previous game, reports BSS.

While New Zealand moved to the semifinal without much hiccup, Pakistan struggled to make it. Pakistan lost the first match to arch-rivals India before being upset by Zimbabwe. They then came back in style, beating South Africa, Netherlands, and lastly Bangladesh, against whom their match turned out to be a virtual quarterfinal following Netherland's shocking win against South Africa.

In the ICC tournament, New Zealand are yet to win any match against Pakistan. Pakistan also have another psychological edge that they beat hosts New Zealand to win the trophy of the tri-nation series ahead of the T20 World Cup.

"Toss is not in our hand and we will look to put pressure on them," Pakistan captain Babar Azam said. "We have a lot of confidence from the triangular series, but New Zealand have quality players and we will play according to the situation. We have not played the last two finals, but we're focusing on this match."

New Zealand captain Williamson however looked confident to win this game.

"Used pitch, it looked like it is devoid of grass. Same pitch, but different and it's important we adjust to the changing conditions. For us, it's just focusing on this game and the conditions."

Line Ups:

Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Haris, Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi

New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway (wk), Kane Williamson (captain), Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult.