Pakistan’s entry into the semi-finals was a surprise. The team that was thought to be out of the semi-finals at one stage came back in a big way. Let’s see Pakistan’s journey to the semi-finals.
Until a week ago, social media posts and trolls mocking Pakistan’s poor performance went viral. The former players came out with harsh criticism against the poor performance of the team. The start was a shocking loss. That is also against India. Thanks to Shan Masood and Iftikhar, Pakistan raised the target of 160.
The bowlers also showed a similar performance in the beginning. India fell to four on 31st. But when Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya came together, the game changed.. the story changed.. they scored 113 runs together. The drama in the last over and Virat Kohli’s fighting spirit gave India the win. Pakistan will miss the final thriller. Kohli remained unbeaten on 82 runs.
The next game was to make it clear that that loss was a big blow for Babar Assam and his team. Lost by one run against Zimbabwe. Bad batting was the obstacle that time. The bowlers restricted Zimbabwe to 130. But there were no performances from Pakistan to create real partnerships. Taking wickets every now and then and being stingy in conceding runs, the Zimbabwean bowlers restricted Pakistan to 129 runs for the loss of 8 wickets.
It was the match against the Netherlands that got Pakistan on track. The same Netherlands that brought it to SEMA. Anyway, the Dutch were bowled out for 91 runs for the loss of 9 wickets that day. The victory target was surpassed in the 14th over.
Naturally, the fans were scared when facing South Africa, who beat India. But Pakistan had full borders. Although it was raining in the middle, it also benefited Pakistan. Batting first, Pak scored 185 runs. With Africa at 69 for four, the rain came. The target was revised to 142 runs in 14 overs. Things stretched to 73 runs from five overs. With this, South Africa’s struggle ended at 108 for 9
After defeating the Netherlands in South Africa, Pakistan hit the lottery. The match between Bangladesh and Pakistan became crucial. The winners progress to the semi-finals. Shaheen Afridi rose to the occasion and reduced Bangladesh to 127 runs for 8. Pakistan chased down the target of 128 runs with 11 balls to spare. The team won by five wickets.
From India to Pakistan, the journey of all the semi-finals in the T20 World Cup 2022
