Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal wished good luck to both India and New Zealand ahead of the first semi-final of the 2019 Cricket World Cup and said India has been his favourite team since the start of the tournament.

India won 7 out of their 9 league matches to top the table. Australia finished second, England were third while New Zealand who shared 11 points with Pakistan, qualified for the semi-finals thanks to a superior net run rate.

India had defeated Pakistan in Manchester on June 16. The Pakistan team was slammed for its insipid performance in the high-profile game.

However, Pakistan bounced back to stay in the hunt for the semis after that defeat. But they needed a huge victory margin over Bangladesh to stand a chance of qualifying for the last four,

India and New Zealand were the only unbeaten teams in the World Cup for a while before the Black Caps lost 3 matches. India lost their only game to hosts England and that result further complicated Pakistan's chances of reaching the knockout stage.

This is the 7th time India are in the semi-finals of a World Cup while New Zealand have made it to semis for the 8th time.