New Zealand vs Pakistan Prediction: T20 World Cup Semifinal One

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The first semifinalists of this year’s T20 World Cup are set to run out on the field in less than 24 hours, and they couldn’t have taken more different paths to get here.

New Zealand began their campaign in incredible fashion, devastating the tournament favorites and home side Australia with an 89 run defeat. They’ve gone on to lead Group 1 throughout, and qualify in pole position. Pakistan, on the other hand, were looking dead for all money a week into the Super 12 phase of the T20 World Cup, having lost their opening two games. However, they’ve fought back with three consecutive wins, and have managed to scrape their way into the semifinals thanks to other results going their way.

The two sides will now compete in a sudden death match to see who progresses to the weekend’s final, and we have all the betting information you need to know ahead of this exciting clash.

New Zealand vs Pakistan Prediction

Most major bookmakers have New Zealand the slight favorites heading into this match. The margin is small, however, with the Kiwis sitting on 4/5 or 1.80, against Pakistan’s 1/1 or 2.00.

Bottom line is, we think New Zealand will walk away victorious in this one.

The Black Caps have been in fine form this tournament, and have an impeccable record at ICC events over the past decade. They were beaten finalists in last year’s T20 World Cup, and will be hungry to go one step further. With a fiery opening pair, dependable middle order and a sharp bowling attack that offers both pace and spin, the Kiwis look to be the more complete team compared to Pakistan.

Expect this to go down to the last over, but our New Zealand vs Pakistan prediction is it will be the New Zealanders who progress through to the final.

Other New Zealand vs Pakistan T20 Predictions

For those who fancy digging a bit deeper into the betting lines ahead of this semifinal clash, there are several interesting bets to be made.

Kane Williamson to Top Score for New Zealand @ 4/1 (5.00)

While critics were baying for blood just days ago, New Zealand’s captain has silenced them with a strong performance against Ireland. Williamson’s 61 off 35 couldn’t have come at a better time, and with the skipper having a track record of standing up when it counts—remember, he scored 85 from 48 in last year’s T20 World Cup final—betting on him to top score here isn’t a bad idea.

Shaheen Shah Afridi to be Pakistan’s Top Bowler & Pakistan to Win @ 6.50 (11/2)

If Pakistan are to squeeze out a win here over the Kiwis, chances are it will come off the back of a stand out performance by their star fast bowler, Shaheen Shah Afridi. After all, when Pakistan were faced with a must win match against group leaders South Africa last week, it was Afridi who stood up and took three wickets at an economy of 4.7. Expect another strong performance from the young pacer here, and it could be worth taking this combination bet at these odds.

Each Team to Score Over 6 Runs in Each of Their Opening 3 Overs @ 15.00 (14/1)

Both these sides have excellent opening partnerships—Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, and Devon Conway and Finn Allen. These men are notorious for fast starts that provide their sides with a strong platform, so it wouldn’t be inconceivable at all for the first half of the powerplay to go at a run a ball here. It’s a higher risk bet, but the returns would be handsome as well.

New Zealand vs Pakistan Head to Head

Looking at the track record between these two sides, a few stats stand out:

• Pakistan won the most recent meeting on October 14, by 5 wickets
• Pakistan lead the T20 head to head, with 17 wins to 11 wins
• Pakistan lead the T20 World Cup head to head, with 4 wins to 2 wins

If New Zealand are to win this semifinal, they will be bucking the trend in New Zealand vs Pakistan matches. Typically, Pakistan wins more often than not when the two sides meet in T20s, and in World Cups.

However, the Black Caps side in this tournament is a far cry from the ones which have contested previous tournaments, so we can only read so much into these numbers.

Path to the Semifinals: How Each Team Got Here

New Zealand

As they have a history of doing, New Zealand have punched above their weight so far in this T20 World Cup.

Coming into the event as fifth favourites in the bookies’ odds, the Black Caps went about immediately changing that by crushing Australia in their opening game. They went on to back this up with an equally strong win over Sri Lanka, before a washed out match against Afghanistan and a loss to England slowed things down a little.

However, a win over Ireland was enough to see New Zealand top Group 1 on seven points with a strong net run rate.

Pakistan

Pakistan have a way of almost willing themselves into the late stages of ICC events, and that’s exactly what they’ve done here.

Their first two matches saw the men in green suffer final ball defeats to India and Zimbabwe, leaving them on the brink of elimination. However, three wins in a row against the Netherlands, South Africa and Bangladesh, along with South Africa dropping their final game against the Netherlands, was enough to see Pakistan scrape through.

Babar Azam’s men claimed second place in Group 2, two points behind India on six points.

Key Match Details

Venue: Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia
Date and Time: Wednesday 9 November at 8:00 AM GMT
Event: T20 World Cup 2022 Semifinal One

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