Pakistan vs New Zealand T20 World Cup semifinal: Netherlands cricket team pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the history of T20 World Cup by defeating one of the tournament favorites South Africa in their last Super 12 stage match. More than the Netherlands, it was the Pakistan cricket team that benefited from this win.
For Pakistan to qualify for the semifinal, they needed either India or South Africa to lose their respective matches and also a win over Bangladesh. Mighty Proteas faced a shock 13-run defeat against Netherlands, after which Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by 5 wickets to secure a place in the semifinals alongside India, New Zealand and England.
Pakistan's lethal pacer Shaheen Afridi, who won Player of the Match award for taking a four-wicket haul against Bangladesh, asserted that the reason why they made it semis was the support of their fans, but also made sure to point out that former Pakistan cricketers should support the national team when they are losing.
“Fans ki vajah se hi ham semi-final me pohoche hain. Unki dua hai, jo apne log karte hain. Mera ye hai ki kabhi kabhi dil ko lagta hai ki jo hamaare top ke cricketer hain, unko chahiye ki mushkil time me vo team ko support karein. Ye nahi ki ham semi-final aur final jeete, fir support kare. Team ko support uss time chahiye jab team haare. Logon ki dua ki vajah se ham semi-final jeete, unka support hamesha hamaare saath hai,” said Shaheen in the post-match press conference.
After end of all Super 12 stage matches, Team India, with 8 points, finished ahead of Pakistan. The first semi-final of T20 World Cup 2022 will be played between New Zealand and Pakistan in Sydney on November 9.