T20 World Cup, New Zealand vs Pakistan and India vs England: Road to the semi-finals

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.

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson (AFP Photo)Last year's beaten finalists topped the tougher of the two Super 12 groups on net run rate from pre-tournament favourites Australia and England to underline just how dangerous they are. The 2009 champions had a heartbreaking start to their campaign when they lost a last-ball thriller to arch-rivals India, then suffered a shock defeat to Zimbabwe. They looked dead and buried, and victory over the Netherlands was hardly impressive as they lost four wickets in their modest chase of 92. But Pakistan conjured up a dominant performance to hammer South Africa and revive their semi-final hopes, and the Dutch did them a favour by stunning South Africa. Babar Azam's team won a do-or-die clash against Bangladesh to enter the final four, with pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi returning career-best figures of 4-22.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam (AFP Photo)Azam's form remains a worry however with the opener managing just 39 runs in five matches. Jos Buttler's team thrashed Afghanistan after they bundled out the opposition for 112 in their opener in Perth to justify their favourites tag in the tournament. But a five-run shock loss