Babar Azam Mohammad Rizwan Australia New Zealand India Pakistan cricket cup Babar Azam Mohammad Rizwan Australia New Zealand India Pakistan

Cricket-Middle order sorted, Pakistan eye second T20 World Cup title

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(Reuters) - For a side used to tumultuous build-ups Pakistan look unusually settled ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia, where they launch their bid for a second title with a Super 12 showdown against arch-rivals India on Sunday.Sorting out a misfiring middle order was top of skipper Babar Azam's to-do list heading into a tri-series in New Zealand as the burden of scoring runs had fallen on him and vice-captain Mohammad Rizwan.Babar can now breathe a bit easier after Mohammad Nawaz, Haider Ali and Iftikhar Ahmed came good in New Zealand, where they beat the hosts in Friday's final."Our middle order stepped up in the last two matches," Babar said."When you get that kind of performance right before the World Cup, it gives lot of confidence to the team."I'm fully confident they would perform well in the World Cup, too.

It's a good sign for us."While Rizwan, the top-ranked batter in T20 cricket, and Babar, who is ranked third, no longer have to worry about carrying the innings themselves they must still set the tone at the top of the order.The 2009 champions must also be careful not to run out of steam like last year, when Pakistan finished the Super 12 stage unbeaten but were sent packing by eventual winners Australia in the semi-finals.Spearhead Shaheen Afridi has returned from a knee injury to join the squad, which boasts a quality pace attack that includes Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf."Pakistan always have had an abundance of fast bowlers and we currently have a very strong pace attack," Babar said."Shaheen's return strengthens our attack.

Haris has improved a lot, both with new ball and in the death overs. "This is an opportunity to showcase our skill as a pace unit."Pakistan have no time to ease themselves into the

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AFP Sport looks at the teams and their journeys into the final four:The Black Caps had a resounding start to the tournament with an 89-run thrashing of defending champions and hosts Australia, setting the tone for their campaign so far. A washout against Afghanistan did not stop their momentum. They thrashed Sri Lanka with Glenn Phillips smashing the second century of this World Cup with his 64-ball 104. New Zealand faltered in their chase of 180 against England but regrouped to outplay minnows Ireland as skipper Kane Williamson struck form with a quickfire 61.
Standing on the verge of an early exit from the tournament after defeats against India and Zimbabwe in the Super 12 stage, Pakistan were handed a lifeline when fancied South Africa were knocked out by Netherlands, who registered a memorable 13-run win at the same venue earlier in the day. That result not only sealed the semifinal passage for India with a match in hand, but gave Pakistan and Bangladesh a lifeline, in a winner-takes-it-all contest. Opting to bat, Bangladesh got off to a rollicking start with Najmul Hossain Shanto slamming a counter-attacking 48-ball 54 but lacked failed the final flourish as Pakistan rode on pacer Shaheen Afridi's career-best T20I figures of 4 for 22 to restrict their opponents to a paltry 127 for eight.
Pakistan on Thursday called up batting all-rounder Mohammad Haris to replace the injured Fakhar Zaman just hours before they face South Africa in Sydney with their T20 World Cup hopes on the line.
Pakistan's bowlers, led by spinner Shadab Khan, helped them hammer the Netherlands by six wickets in Perth on Sunday for a first win at the Twenty20 World Cup to keep their faint hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive. 
Zimbabwe punched above their weight and stunned Pakistan by one run in a nail-biting T20 World Cup match at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Thursday. Defending a modest 131, Zimbabwe stifiled the Pakistani batters and picked up wickets at regular intervals to stop their fancied rivals at 129 for eight. Pakistan-born all-rounder Sikandar Raza turned the match on its head in the middle overs with figures of 3 for 25 from his four overs, which included the wickets of Shan Masood (44), Shahdab Khan (17) and Haider Ali.
Zimbabwe pulled off a stunning one-run win over Pakistan on Thursday to put the Asian giants in danger of an early exit from the Twenty20 World Cup.

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