Kane Williamson-led side beat England by five wickets in the first semi-finals of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021 in Abu Dhabi. It was all thanks to a collective effort from the Kiwi bowlers and some sumptuous batting displays by Daryl Mitchell and Jimmy Neesham. The Black Caps sealed their spot for the finals of the competition on Sunday.

While reviewing the high-octane encounter, Shoaib Akhtar posted a video on his official YouTube channel. He imparted that he wants New Zealand to meet Pakistan in the finals. Pakistan will play the second semi-finals against a mighty unit of Australia today (November 11).

You can watch Shoaib Akhtar’s video below:

Akhtar opined that New Zealand has a psychological pressure of facing the Men in Green. He said thus, because New Zealand canceled their tour to Pakistan earlier this year. That left a sour taste in the mouths of all Pakistani cricket fans and the PCB. The former speedster also acknowledged that first Pakistan has to cross the river of fire in Australia in order to make it to the finals. He said:

Pakistan and New Zealand also met in the league stages of the T20 World Cup 2021. The former then came out on top and won the game by five wickets in Sharjah.

“When it came to Morgan’s strategy against New Zealand, I didn’t like it at all.” - Shoaib Akhtar

The former cricketer-turned-expert also criticized a few of Eoin Morgan’s decisions against the Kiwis on Wednesday. Akhtar believes England played with the wrong batting order and either Morgan, the captain himself or Liam Livingston, should’ve batted up the order.

While underlining Morgan’s decision to give Adil Rashid the 18th over of the match as a poor one, Akhtar said:

Shoaib Akhtar also expressed his discontent with the poor batting displays by Kane Williamson and Eoin Morgan in the match. Akhtar mentioned that the Kiwi skipper should’ve anchored the innings and stayed at the crease for long.

It remains to be seen which team will face New Zealand in the all-important T20 World Cup 2021 Finals in Dubai. The second semi-final between Australia and Pakistan will be played at the Dubai International Stadium on November 11.

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