Pakistan will be the hot favorites in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2021.
The tournament reaches its business end with the start of the knockouts Wednesday with England taking on New Zealand in the first semi-final in Abu Dhabi.
In the second semifinal, the only team without a defeat to its name in the tournament so far – Pakistan -are set to lock horns with Australia in Dubai Thursday.
The final four of the tournament this year was decided after a hard-fought Super 12 stage where the top two teams from each group made it through.
England and Australia qualified from Group 1, while Pakistan and New Zealand made it from Group 2.
The competition in Group 1 went down to the wire as the teams had to wait till the result of the last game of the group to find out who has made it through.
Both England and Australia won four out of five games in the group but the English side finished top with superior net run rate.
South Africa too had bagged four wins but missed out on net run rate and finished as third.
In Group 2, Pakistan remained unbeaten.
They won all games having started the campaign with authority by defeating arch-rivals India by 10 wickets.
New Zealand won four of their five matches, confirming their place in the top two with a win over Afghanistan in their final game.
The New Zealand victory against Afghanistan saw pre-tournament favorites India knocked out from the tournament.
India still have a game left, against Namibia Monday, but even a comprehensive win will not be enough for the team that has won just two of the four games played.
Pakistan had come to the tournament on the back of home their series against New Zealand and England being cancelled.
The two visiting teams had raised concerns over security and abandoned their respective tour.
The Pakistan government, Pakistan Cricket Board and its cricket legends smelled conspiracy in the situation and echoed support to their team, urging the cricketers to use the scenario as strength and show the world their worth.
Pakistan cricket astonishingly have done more than that with their batting and bowling both clicking in tandem.
They have been the one team for whom the toss has not played a big part, able to put on big scores while batting first.
Captain and opener Babar Azam has been in fine form and is the top scorer in the tournament after the Super 12 stage with four half centuries to his name.
The right-handed batsman has a strong partnership with Mohammad Rizwan as the duo are able to quickly assess the pitches and build their innings as per requirement of the game.
New Zealand meanwhile turned the tables after they started with a defeat, against Pakistan, and won four games in a row.
The Kiwis are being applauded for the consistency showed throughout, able to pace their game and flip a switch and turn the pressure on their opponents.
Led by pace duo Trent Boult and Tim Southee, their bowling has been the main strength, while Martin Guptill played one of the best knocks of the tournament so far – a 56-ball 93 against Scotland.
No 1 T20I team of the world – England dominated the first few games in the Super 12 and found Jos Buttler register the ninth century in the T20 World Cup history, and the only one so far in this edition.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Butter has led England with the bat scoring 240 runs in five matches involving the 101 not out and unbeaten 71 against Sri Lanka and Australia respectively.
His runs have come at a strike-rate of 155.84.
Going into the semis, the Three Lions however, has injury worries with Tymal Mills and Jason Roy ruled out of the tournament.
This could hurt England’s balance in the knock-out match.
Australia meanwhile started off with two wins – against South Africa and Sri Lanka - but were overwhelmed by England.
The defeat however, did not dent their confidence as they picked up convincing wins against Bangladesh and the West Indies to boost their NRR.
The opening pair of Aaron Finch and David Warner have been in excellent touch and with the ball their pace attack has been incisive complemented by spinner Adam Zampa.
Left-handed batsman Warner reached the UAE for the world event with questions about his form.
He however, brushed off the critics with two half centuries in the tournament so far, scoring at a strike-rate of 144.96 and playing an important role in the powerplays.