T20 World Cup semi-final: "Our Karan Arjun are officially back" Twitteratis reacts to Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan returning to form vs NZ

Pakistan openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan cashed in on field-restricted overs to set the foundation for a 152-run chase in the first semi-final against New Zealand on Wednesday, November 9, at the Adelaide Oval.

Rizwan started the innings with a boundary through the covers of Trent Boult to build momentum. His shots had the sound of thunder and displayed intent to fire up. However, the concern was Babar, who took his time to play the big shots. The Pakistan skipper played his trademark cover drive off Boult and followed it with an elegant straight drive against Lockie Ferguson.

Rizwan became the aggressor in the powerplay overs and smashed successive boundaries of Tim Southee in the fifth over. Pakistan made 55 runs in the Powerplay as both the openers recalibrated their batting forms in the all-important clash of the T20 World Cup.

Soon after the powerplay, Babar switched gears and racked up his 30th half-century in 38 balls. Babar and Rizwan recorded their ninth 100-plus stand in T20Is before Babar departed for 53 in 42 balls in the 13th over.

The Pakistan openers were pumped up after failing to deliver in the Super 12 stage. Babar (39 runs in five innings) and Rizwan (103 in five innings) faced the wrath of their supporters and former players. Some Pakistan experts asked Babar to push down the batting order at No.3 and allow youngster Mohammad Haris to open with Mohammad Rizwan.

Cricket fans were thrilled to see Babar and Rizwan return to form and here's how they reacted to their aggressive approach.

Earlier in the match, Pakistan's bowlers bowled brilliantly to restrict the Blackcaps to a moderate score of 152 for four wickets. Shaheen Afridi was once again the leading wicket-taker in their innings. He trapped Finn Allen on the third ball of the game before cleaning up New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson, who tried to play a scoop against the left-arm pacer.

About the author

Viransh is an Indian Sports journalist, who covers Table Tennis, Hockey, Badminton, Squash and Volleyball at Sportskeeda. His BMM degree in Journalism initially paved the way for his entry into sports writing and he has around 3.5 years of professional experience.

Viransh has a knack of getting on the ground at times in search of stories, but always ensures to verify them from multiple sources and exercises patience when gathering all relevant facts for the stories presented in his articles. His methods have helped build a strong authority in his field and he has interviewed star Indian cricketer Suryakumar Yadav’s club coach Vinayak Mane, and Arjuna Award winning Table Tennis paddler Sreeja Akula.

Viransh's interest in Indian sports piqued after PV Sindhu’s silver medal win at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and was further intensified by Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal win at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He admires legendary Indian Table Tennis paddler Achanta Sharath Kamal for his grind, his achievements and his resilience. According to him, Sharath Kamal’s bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games in mixed doubles with Manika Batra paved the way for a host of emerging stars in Table Tennis.

During his free time, he consumes all forms of sports content and also watches regional Indian cinema.

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