The Pakistan batting consultant and team mentor praised his side for "opting in" to the semi-final clash and excelling in all areas as a unit
Matthew Hayden was full of praise for his Pakistan side following their T20 World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, hailing their performance in the seven-wicket win as "flawless".
Pakistan were the final side to secure a spot in the last four, bouncing back from losing their opening two matches to pip South Africa – thanks to an upset by the Netherlands – to second position in group two.
They maintained their impressive form against New Zealand, who topped group one, restricting the 2021 finalists to 152 for 4 before completing their chase with five balls to spare.
Speaking to the squad in the dressing room after the match, Hayden, Pakistan's batting consultant and team mentor, said: "I said at the start of the day you have to opt into big matches.
Mohammad Haris was singled out for praise [Cameron Spencer/Getty Images]
"Everyone at this stage would go, 'Pakistan, you've done a great job, well done, it doesn't matter'. But our efforts and collective partnerships and belief in each other means we're opting in even more because that's what it takes to win a championship, to win a semi-final.
"That was a flawless display of superb cricket: a flawless display of bowling, flawless display of fielding, some quality efforts and extraordinary batting. That was a complete performance and I think the world's going to see a lot more of that in four days' time."
Hayden singled out Mohammad Haris for praise, labelling the 21-year-old's 30-run contribution "another injection of great energy and great enthusiasm", as well as opening pair Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, who both chose the semi-finals as the moment to finally find some form. They scored 53 (42) and 57 (43), respectively, and shared a 105-run opening stand.
💬 "I'd say that's a complete performance and the world is going to see a lot more of that in four days' time!"
— ICC (@ICC) November 9, 2022
Matthew Hayden lauds the performance of the Pakistan team after their sensational win against New Zealand in the semis 👏
📽️ @TheRealPCB #T20WorldCup | #PAKvNZ pic.twitter.com/lskarDnbbh
Assessing the team performance, Hayden continued: "I want to make a special mention to a moment at the start of play and that was Babar throwing balls to Rizzy. There were plenty of coaches around but Babar showed it wasn't just about Babar, it was about his mate at the other end. That then transformed into a great opening partnership.
"Way before that was an extraordinary bowling effort. Even though there were 22 or 23 twos conceded, I can’t remember one of those twos coming from no effort, just genuine good running.
"Your efforts in the field, athletic ability to the ball and classic saves we saw tonight – even before the run out, that fielding effort was the sort of stuff that wins big matches."
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