Daryl Mitchell carried his bat through the innings, scoring an unbeaten fifty to guide New Zealand to 152/4 after a top-order collapse against Pakistan in the first semi-final of the T20 World Cup at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday.
Opting to bat first, New Zealand openers Devon Conway and Finn Allen walked out to start the innings for their team. The inning got off to an action-packed first over with Allen smashing a boundary on the first ball, surviving a leg-before-wicket call on the second and finally getting dismissed on the third. Conway struck two boundaries to Nassem Shah in the second over to get things started for Pakistan and himself.
Captain Kane Williamson looked to push the ball into the gaps and keep the scoreboard ticking amidst impressive bowling from the Pakistani bowlers.
New Zealand looked set to end the powerplay with just one wicket down but Shadab Khan’s brilliance on the field cost the Kiwis Conway’s wicket after the batter set out for a risky single on the last ball of the sixth over. The team ended the powerplay with 38/2.
Explosive batter Glenn Phillips did smash Shadab Khan for a boundary in the seventh over but got dismissed by Mohammad Nawaz after chipping a simple catch to the bowler in the eighth over.
Middle-order batter Daryl Mitchell joined Williamson in a quest to steady the Kiwi innings and took the team to 59/3 at the end of the halfway mark.
Things looked quiet for New Zealand until Mohammad Wasim came to bowl in the 13th over. Williamson finally broke the shackles and smashed a six in the over to inject some much-needed momentum into the innings.
The aggression rubbed off on Mitchell as he too launched a massive six to Shadab, bringing up the half-century stand with his captain for the team.
Pakistan’s ace pacer Shaheen Afridi came back to bowl the 15th over in search of wickets but was caressed for a four by the Kiwi captain towards fine-leg.
After a slow start in the first 10 overs, New Zealand were able to score 47 runs from overs 11 to 15, staging a comeback.
Afridi continued his spell and came back in the 17th over to bowl the last over of his quota and removed the Kiwi captain to uproot the crucial 4th wicket 68-run partnership from 56 balls.
The Kiwi team managed to secure 29 runs from the last three overs, ending their 20 overs at 152/4 with Mitchell playing an unbeaten knock of 53 runs.
Shaheen Afridi was the pick of the bowlers picking up two wickets for his side.
Brief Score: New Zealand 152/4 ( Daryl Mitchell 53*, Kane Williamson 46; Shaheen Afridi 2-24) vs Pakistan (ANI)
