Pakistan captain Babar Azam lauded his bowlers for setting up their seven-wicket win over New Zealand in the first semi-final of this T20 World Cup at the SCG on Wednesday.

“The way the team performed in the last three matches had been quite good. Thanks to the crowd, it feels like we are playing at home. We had a good start in the first six overs and later on, our spinners too did a good job.

“The fast bowlers then ensured to finish it very well,” Babar, who regained some form with a 42-ball 53 at the top of the order, said.

“Our plan before going for the run chase was to utilise the first six overs so that everyone could come and chip in later. We will enjoy this moment, but at the same time, we’ll start focusing on the final,” the skipper added.

Mohammad Rizwan, the other opener who was adjudged Man of the Match for his 43-ball 57, emphasised that Babar and he never stopped believing in spite of the difficulties they faced to score runs in the group stage of the competition.

“Luckily, our half-centuries came in the semi-final.

“Babar and I were struggling, but we worked hard and believed in ourselves. We kept fighting. When we went out for the run chase, we decided to take the attack to New Zealand’s new-ball bowlers,” Rizwan explained. “When we were done with the Powerplay, we knew one of us had to bat deep as it was a tricky pitch. Our start to the tournament wasn’t good, but every one of us kept believing.”

This is the first World Cup final in 13 years that Pakistan have reached since winning the 2009 World T20 title. Now’s the wait to see who they battle against in Melbourne on Sunday.