{"id":11916,"date":"2022-11-08T12:22:54","date_gmt":"2022-11-08T12:22:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/?p=11916"},"modified":"2022-11-08T12:22:54","modified_gmt":"2022-11-08T12:22:54","slug":"matthew-hayden-backs-babar-azam-to-fire-in-world-cup-semi-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/sports\/matthew-hayden-backs-babar-azam-to-fire-in-world-cup-semi-final\/","title":{"rendered":"Matthew Hayden backs Babar Azam to fire in World Cup semi-final"},"content":{"rendered":"

Matthew Hayden backs Babar Azam to fire in World Cup semi-final. Pakistan\u2019s best is yet to come and struggling skipper Babar Azam<\/a> is due \u201csomething very special\u201d in their Twenty20 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand on Wednesday, team mentor Matthew Hayden warned.<\/p>\n

The 2009 champions only scraped into the knockouts when the Netherlands unexpectedly defeated South Africa and Pakistan then beat Bangladesh to secure their second successive last-four berth.<\/p>\n

Former Australia opener Hayden, who was batting coach for Pakistan at the last World Cup and appointed team mentor for this edition, said they planned to make the most of their second chance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the Netherlands beat South Africa it was a significant moment for us, a very significant moment for the team in general around reaching its potential,\u201d he said on the eve of the semi-final in Sydney.<\/p>\n

Read more:\u00a0Shahid Afridi calls on Babar Azam to move down the order<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cLots of prayers as Pakistan woke up to see that result, 232 million people can\u2019t be wrong, and as a result of that I feel there has been very much an uplift in tempo in our group.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a roller-coaster [\u2026] but I really believe we have yet to play our best game, which is a huge threat to oppositions.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Pakistan\u2019s bowling, led by Shaheen Shah Afridi, has been improving, their batting has been fragile, a concern against a top-class New Zealand attack led by Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson.<\/p>\n

Azam\u2019s form in particular remains a worry with the opener managing just 39 runs in five matches.<\/p>\n

Hayden, himself a destructive opener who played 103 Tests and 161 ODIs, said the skipper was due some \u201cfireworks\u201d \u2014 and predicted they could come on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no question Babar has been under some adversity but that will only make him an even greater player,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know with the weather that when there\u2019s a lull, there\u2019s often a storm that follows, so look out rest of the world because I think we\u2019re about to see something very special from Babar.\u201d<\/p>\n

New Zealand have long been a force in white-ball cricket, but have failed to turn that into world titles, including falling at the final hurdle to Australia in 2021.<\/p>\n

Play smart<\/strong><\/p>\n

They started their campaign this year with a massive 89-run win against the defending champions, also in Sydney, and Hayden said Pakistan were wary of the Black Caps.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey got 200 on this particular wicket against Australia [\u2026] New Zealand have some really destructive players and they can put you under pressure with the bat,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve also got a terrific, well-balanced bowling attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike New Zealand sport in general, they really punch above their weight, they believe they can win this tournament and they have the potential to do that.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo lots of threats to our camp, no question.\u201d<\/p>\n

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson played down any significance in his team making 200-3 on the Sydney wicket, noting that they only managed 167-7 against Sri Lanka when they returned to the ground later in the tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first game we played here the wicket was a very good one and then the second time it had changed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll just be looking to focus on our cricket really and the plans that we are looking to execute and make sure we adjust to the conditions and try and play smart.\u201d<\/p>\n

New Zealand followed up that first Sydney win with a six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka, with a washed-out game against Afghanistan in between. They lost by 20 runs to England before hammering Ireland to secure a semi-final place.<\/p>\n

Williamson said the results counted for little when it came to the knockouts.<\/p>\n

\u201cFinals sport can go any way,\u201d he said. \u201cBoth teams match up pretty well, there\u2019s some similar trends, we\u2019ve both been playing some good cricket.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve got an outstanding pace attack,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome really experienced players throughout their side, match winners, so real strength in their team. \u201c<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Matthew Hayden backs Babar Azam to fire in World Cup semi-final. Pakistan\u2019s best is yet to come and struggling skipper Babar Azam is due \u201csomething very special\u201d in their Twenty20 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand on Wednesday, team mentor Matthew Hayden warned. The 2009 champions only scraped into the knockouts when the Netherlands unexpectedly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":11917,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,6],"tags":[694,2682,1626,2599],"class_list":["post-11916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-sports","tag-babar-azam","tag-matthew-hayden","tag-shaheen-shah-afridi","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11916\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyausaf.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}