Pakistani openers and the captain-vice captain pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan rocked back to their best as the pair creamed half-centuries each in the victory over New Zealand in Sydney in the first semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022, to propel Pakistan to their first T20 World Cup final since 2009.
Both Babar and Rizwan had been facing loads of criticism regarding their strike rates in the group matches. But the pair turned the heat on the semi-final on a lively SCG surface while chasing 153. After Devon Conway dropped Babar for a duck, both the right-handers hit a flurry of boundaries to race to 55/0 after the powerplay and brought up another century stand in the 12th over.
Their 105-run opening stand paved the way for Mohammad Haris to hit 30 runs and take Pakistan to the finishing line and in the final.
Mohammad Rizwan was named the Man of the Match for scoring 57 runs off 43 balls while Babar Azam scored 53 off 42 balls.
MCC offers clarification over confusion after Mohammad Rizwan’s dismissal

Rizwan got out to a full toss from Trent Boult as he hit it straight to Glenn Phillips at deep cover. Rizwan had come down the tracks and hit the ball on the off-side where Phillips took the catch. Rizwan and Haris thought that perhaps it would have been a no-ball – they understood that the third umpire would be asked for a check – and Rizwan ran for a second run.
But Phillips and New Zealand fielders showed game awareness as Phillips threw the ball back to Boult who ran Rizwan out at the non-striker’s end.
Confusion prevailed in the middle as Rizwan and New Zealand players chatted with the on-field umpires. Rizwan’s argument must have been that the ball was dead once the fielder caught it, but it could be a no-ball. So since the ball was dead, the run-out is not valid, and if the third umpire calls it a no-ball then Rizwan would be not out. The third umpire checked it and found the full toss to be legal and not a no-ball, so Rizwan was given out caught.
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) who serves as the guardian of the cricket laws, were prompt to offer clarification regarding this matter:
‘There have been a few questions about the dismissal of Mohammad Rizwan in today’s Men’s T20 World Cup semi-final. New Zealand, having taken the catch, feared that the third umpire might call No ball, so tried to enact a Run out,’ the MCC tweeted.
‘However, this would NOT have been out – the ball was Dead at the point the catch was completed, and even if a later call of No ball means the striker is Not out, that cannot return the ball into play. Law 20.6 specifically addresses this matter.
‘Law 20.6: “Once the ball is dead, no revoking of any decision can bring the ball back into play for that delivery.”
‘If the on-field umpires had called No ball at the time, then the ball would not have been Dead and a Run out would have been possible. However, this cannot apply to third umpire decisions. In the event, it was not a No ball, and so Rizwan was anyway out Caught,’ the MCC concluded.