Former India spinner Amit Mishra's tweet following Pakistan's victory over New Zealand in the T20 World Cup semifinal on Wednesday triggered an ugly verbal spat between the supporters of the two Asian sides. Babar Azam and his boys were brilliant in all departments of the game throughout the match and went on to chase New Zealand's sub-par total of 152/4 with relative ease, eventually winning the contest with five balls to spare.

After Pakistan's comprehensive triumph over the Kiwis, former India leg-spinner Amit Mishra tweeted, “Another upset in this world cup.. well played Pakistan. Better luck next time New Zealand,” leading to a war of words between the fans of the two South Asian teams.

https://twitter.com/Numa4n_x/status/1590307215315185666

 

After Pakistan made it through to the final of the T20 World Cup for the first time since 2009, their batting mentor Matthew Hayden wished for a final with Amit Mishra's India. The Men in Blue face England in the second semifinal in Adelaide on Thursday.

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“I would like to face India. Just because of the pure spectacle of pretty much a third of the population all tuning in at the same time. That is fantastic. Can you just imagine, let's cast our mind forward a couple of days, should India beat England, It will just be crazy chaos in Melbourne,” Matthew Hayden told the tournament's official broadcaster.

“Fantastic. Tonight was very special and a few things came out for us. Everyone will talk about Babar and Rizwan, but that bowling attack did an unbelievable job. Sky is the limit and both of these guys have done it for Pakistan for a number of years and I also want to mention Haris as well. He faces every fast bowler in the nets and smashes them.  On this surface, the bowlers had to adapt and we got Shaheen back up and running. Once it starts to reverse-swing, boy! he's hard to handle. Haris can bowl 150kph. I'd like to face India, pretty much because of the spectacle. It's unthinkable,” he added.

Meanwhile, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson called the defeat a “tough pill to swallow”.

“We were put under pressure early. Pakistan bowled very nicely. We managed to wrestle back some momentum with an unbelievable knock from Mitchell. At the halfway stage we were feeling it was a competitive total. Wicket was a bit tough – used surface. Very disappointing to not make Pakistan work a lot harder. They were outstanding. We were outplayed. It's a tough pill for us to swallow,” he said.

“Babar and Rizwan put us under pressure. If we're honest, we wanted to be more disciplined in our areas. At the end of the day, Pakistan certainly deserve to be winners. There's been a lot of good cricket. Throughout the round-robin, we've played nicely. Today we weren't at our best. Having said that, we know the fickle nature of T20 cricket,” Kane Williamson concluded.

Mohammad Rizwan was adjudged the Man of the Match for his scintillating knock of 57 off 43 deliveries. The opening batter was delighted with his effort besides praising Babar Azam for his contribution to their century stand at the top of the order in Pakistan's run chase.

“Luckily, the fifty was in the semifinal. Babar and I were struggling but we worked hard and believed. We kept fighting. When we crossed the boundary line, we decided to take the attack to the new ball bowlers. When we finished the powerplay, we knew one of us had to bat deep as it was a tricky pitch. Our start (to the tournament) wasn't good, but the guys kept believing,” Mohammad Rizwan said.

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam was all praise for his team's all-round effort, declaring that everyone – from his fast bowlers to spinners, to fielders to batters, everyone was simply outstanding in the field and that's why they are in the final of a T20 World Cup.

“The way the team performed in the last three matches. Thanks to the crowd, feels like we are playing at home. We had a good start in the first six overs and later on we had a good spin attack. The fast bowlers also finished very well. Our plan before going inside was to utilise the first six overs and later on everyone can come and chip in. I think he [Haris] is a young guy and showing his aggression. We will enjoy this moment, but at the same time we will focus on the final,” Babar Azam said after the game.

Pakistan will take on the winner of the second semifinal between India and England in the final of the T20 World Cup in Melbourne on Sunday.

India will take on England at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday.