New Zealand win toss, opt to bat against Pakistan at SCG

Sydney, Nov 9 (IANS) New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won the toss and opted to bat first against Pakistan in the first semifinal of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), here on Wednesday.

New Zealand, who have played impressive cricket throughout the tournament so far, didn't make any change in their playing XI for this clash.

"We are gonna have a bat. Used surface, not much grass on it. We're going with the same team. Same pitch but different I reckon. It's important we adjust to those changing conditions and assess quickly. There are a few unknowns, important we stick to our plans," said Williamson at the toss.

"Our focus is on this game, what we want to do here and really try and express ourselves with the cricket that we've been playing," he added.

On the other hand, the Babar Azam-led Pakistan, who has had a roller-coaster kind of campaign so far, also stuck to the same team for the all-important game.

"Even we would have batted first. Same team. We are confident as a team and we'll look to carry the momentum. They have quality players, we'll try to be calm. We are trying to focus on this game," said Babar.

Playing XIs:

New Zealand: Finn Allen, Devon Conway (w), Kane Williamson(c), Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult.

Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan(w), Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Haris, Shan Masood, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi.