Pakistan defeated New Zealand by seven wickets to reach the final of T20 World Cup 2022 in a stunning turnaround for Babar Azam's side. After losing to India and Zimbabwe they were on the verge of being eliminated from the tournament, but having won four-game on the trot, the Men in Green are now in the final.
Legendary Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar took to his Twitter handle after the first semifinal between Pakistan and New Zealand, to wish Team India good luck. In his own way, Akhtar also fired a warning that the Pakistani team would be waiting for Rohit Sharma's men.
"Dear India, good luck for tomorrow. We'll be waiting for you in Melbourne for a great game of cricket," wrote the Rawalpindi Express in the caption of his near one-minute-long video.
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"India, we have reached Melbourne, we'll be waiting for you. Best of luck, may you prevail over England and reach Melbourne because we had defeated India in Melbourne back in 1992. It's 2022 now, that's a slight difference, but I want a final between India and Pakistan. There should be a replay once more. The whole world is waiting for this in anticipation," Akhtar can be heard saying in the video.
India had earlier defeated Pakistan in Melbourne in the final match of T20 World Cup 2022 for both sides, with Virat Kohli's unbeaten 82-run knock helping India chase down a required 160-run target.
Rohit Sharma and Co will first have to find a way past Jos Buttler's England, who in his pres-conference before the semifinal that his side would hope to 'spoil the party' and they will try to qualify for the final at the expense of Team India.
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The second semifinal will take place at the Adelaide Oval, and the last time India played against England, it was the Three Lions' who had prevailed, however, the Indian team had won the series 2-1.
The Men in Blue also have an upper hand when it comes to head-to-head record, having won 12 times against England, who have won 10 times in total 22 meetings between the two sides in the shortest format.
