Agencies
Sydney
Pakistan reached the Men’s T20 World Cup final after a thunderous seven-wicket win over New Zealand in Sydney.
Chasing 153 to win, Pakistan openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan hit half-centuries in an opening stand of 105 to tee up a stunning victory.
Shan Masood hit the winning runs with five balls to spare to send the Pakistan fans wild at an electric SCG.
Daryl Mitchell had earlier hit an unbeaten half-century as New Zealand recovered from 49-3 to post 152-4.
Pakistan will now play England or India – who meet on Thursday – in Sunday’s final in Melbourne.
"The team has performed so well in the last three matches and they followed that today. I want to thank the crowd, it feels like we are playing at home,” said Pakistan captain Babar.
"We will enjoy this moment but at the same time we have got to focus on the final.”
An opening stand of 105 runs between Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan helped Pakistan in setting the tone for their seven-wicket win over New Zealand in the semi-final.
New Zealand had lost three key wickets for just 49 runs when Mitchell joined skipper Kane Williamson at the crease. Mitchell went on the charge straightaway whereas Williamson played the second fiddle, as the duo put on a stand of 68 runs for the fourth wicket.
Williamson departed for 46 from 42 deliveries just when their innings entered the death over but Mitchell carried on and made his way to a superb knock of 53* from just 35 deliveries to help New Zealand cross 150.
For Pakistan, Shaheen Afridi was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4-0-24-2 to his name. But the entire unit delivered a disciplined performance on a used track to restrict the Kiwis to a chaseable target.
Pakistan needed a steady start to chase the target down but they got much more than that as Babar and Rizwan put on a show to lay the base for their victory. The duo put on a stand of 105 runs, with both batters making their way to well-deserved fifties. While Rizwan scored 57 from 43 deliveries, Babar made his way to a 42-ball knock of 53.
Pakistan needed just 48 to win from 44 deliveries when their partnership came to an end and the middle-order finished the job off with perfection, chasing the target down with seven wickets and five balls to spare.
Pakistan made an awful start to this tournament but now seem to have almost unstoppable momentum as they look to repeat their success in the 1992 50-over World Cup in Australia under the captaincy of Imran Khan.
They made a terrible start to that competition too, losing their first three group matches, but a dramatic revival - including a semi-final win over New Zealand – carried them to victory over England in the final.
There seems to be a similar sense of destiny here as they ride the crest of a wave fuelled by their boisterous, passionate support, who once against gathered in great numbers. (inputs BBC.com/ICC)
Scores: Pakistan 153 for 3 (Rizwan 57, Babar 53, Boult 2-33) beat New Zealand 152 for 4 (Mitchell 53*, Williamson 46, Afridi 2-24) by seven wickets.