Australia might have missed out on the finals but that hasn’t seen enthusiasm for the finals waver. If anything, anticipation has built.
India, having missed out on last year’s knockout stage, loom as the tournament favourites but all three nations will fancy their chances.
Interestingly all four sides have suffered setbacks.
For the first time, all four nations have lost a match throughout the group stage and in the case of Pakistan they have lost twice.
But you would be a brave person to write Pakistan off.
Here are our talking points ahead of the semi-finals, which get underway on Wednesday evening at the Sydney Cricket Ground between New Zealand and Pakistan.
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LEGACY ON THE LINE FOR CAPTAINS
Rarely in sport do the fortunes of a side rest so heavily on the captains.
But in Kane Williamson, Babar Azam, Jos Buttler and Virat Kohli, the fortunes of their nations rest heavily on the captains – and their star batters – delivering.
All four men will bat in the top three of their nations, and whoever fires could well see their side into the final.
Thus far Kohli has been the clear standout of this year’s tournament.
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He single-handedly got India over the line against Pakistan in their opening game before hitting half-centuries against the Netherlands and Bangladesh.
Buttler led England to a series-saving victory against New Zealand while Williamson has been more circumspect but regularly been amongst the runs.
Azam, on the other hand, has struggled with three scores under 10 and a top score of just 25 against Bangladesh.
All this, however, counts for little unless they deliver in the World Cup finals?
As two-time World Cup-winner Matthew Hayden told the Pakistan squad following the final group match against Afghanistan, “Who cares what has happened over the last three weeks?”
Hayden’s not wrong, World Cups are won in the finals not in the finals.
The careers of all four captains can be defined over the next week.
BLACK CAPS ONCE AGAIN THE FORGOTTEN GIANTS
ODI finalists in 2015 and 2019, as well as in last year’s T20 final, Kane Williamson’s men once again have gone under the radar.
Even though they embarrassed Australia – and ultimately knocked out Aaron Finch’s men as a result – they haven’t had the drama throughout their group stage nor shown the raw emotion as India.
Nor have they been under any real threat of missing out on the semi-finals, with all the attention being on Australia and England as soon as the Black Caps smashed Ireland.
Josh Little’s hat-trick was some of the best bowling of the tournament, with the left-armer getting the ball to swing.
Southee aware of ‘dangerous’ Pakistan | 01:06
But who spoke about it?
Very few because New Zealand won easily.
The world is talking about India being the favourites, Pakistan the dark horses and England being England.
But what about New Zealand?
Williamson’s side have been the most consistent side for years and are balanced right the way through their side.
They have one of the most experienced bowling attacks in the world, with variety, pace and spin.
New Zealand’s top three hold the key with the bat.
Finn Allen and Devon Conway set the tone for their devastating win over Australia with an explosive opening partnership in the power play.
Kane Williamson batted around Conway well, even if questions were asked about his strike-rate.
In last year’s final Williamson stood up. He belted a 48-ball 85 and almost won the man for New Zealand off his own bat.
Captain Kane clobbers Ireland | 01:49
He has rediscovered some form in recent weeks and scored runs in the past two innings too, hitting a run-a-ball 40 against England in Brisbane before smashing a 36-ball 62 against Ireland in Adelaide.
Should New Zealand’s top order deliver, their powerful middle-order featuring Glenn Philipps and Jimmy Neesham can put the cherry on top of an understated team.
Either way, it shapes as a generational defining match for Williamson’s men.
Phillips dropped twice, blasts a CENTURY | 02:28
PAKISTAN’S OPENERS CAN LIGHT UP FINALS
How Pakistan even made it to the semi finals in the end is beggar’s belief, but that’s the beauty of the T20 World Cup.
Pakistan lost its first two matches, then relied on a washout, the Netherlands’ unbelievable upset win over South Africa, and a series of other favourable results, to progress.
The most bizarre thing about all that, however, is that through the sheer chaos, we’ve ended up with the right team in the final four.
Pakistan might’ve had two false starts to this tournament but it remains one of the world’s top T20 outfits, as it has been for some time.
Babar Azam’s side might be the only one to have lost two matches and still make the semi finals, but both of those losses came off the last ball.
First, Virat Kohli produced one of the best T20 innings of all time to snatch victory at the MCG. Then Pakistan lost by just one run against Zimbabwe after a disastrous three dot balls to end the chase.
Pakistan down SA to keep hope alive | 01:55
Since then, Pakistan has hardly put a foot wrong. There was a crushing six-wicket win over the Netherlands, a crucial 33-run DLS victory against South Africa, followed by a comfortable five-wicket win against Bangladesh in what was effectively a quarter final.
The scary thing for New Zealand on Wednesday night is that Pakistan, the only team off the back of three-straight wins, has so much room to grow, too.
Pakistan pulled itself into the final without its two biggest batting stars hitting anywhere near their peaks.
Babar Azam has been curiously off-colour, averaging a lowly 7.80 with a strike rate of 61.90. Those are disastrous numbers, but the captain averages 41.39 in T20Is including scores of 59* and 50 in Pakistan’s last 20-over series in Australia.
If history has told us anything, it’s that when Babar has a lean run in T20 cricket, it doesn’t last for long.
His 25 against Bangladesh was his first double-digit score of the World Cup and could be a sign that he’s slowly turning the corner.
Meanwhile, his opening partner Mohammad Rizwan has also been below normal production with 103 runs at 20.60 and a strike rate of 100.00.
He made a run-a-ball 32 against Bangladesh and could also be on his way back up at the right time.
If the pair get back on their game, it will spell big trouble with the rest of Pakistan’s XI in strong form.
Shan Masood has 134 runs at 44.66, Mohammad Haris’ 59 runs have come at a strike rate of 203.44, while Shadab Khan has been the star all-rounder of the tournament, averaging 26.00 (SR 177.27) while taking 10 wickets at 11.20.
Of Pakistan’s six bowlers at this year’s World Cup, only one is conceding more than seven runs-an-over.
Meanwhile fast bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah are on-song, sharing 11 wickets while conceding slightly less than a run-a-ball collectively.
T20 WORLD CUP COULD MAKE MOCKERY OF IPL
When the world thinks of T20 cricket, they think of India and the Indian Premier League.
But should Pakistan get past New Zealand they have a chance for its own Super League to take centre stage.
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The PSL does not have the same prestige about it, nor the same dollars, but over the past few years it has grown and grown.
Australians Usman Khawaja and Tim David have starred in the competition in recent years, but it has seen Pakistan’s talent face the music on the big stage.
If India do face Pakistan in the final, their respective tournaments will be a fascinating side show.
