Captain Kane Williamson returns to the side after missing the second Test
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index after 23 World Cup 2023 games.
The pitch offered some variable bounce but did not pose too many problems for the batters till the final hour of play.
Pakistan will join India, England and New Zealand in the semi-finals
Pakistan's poor fielding was a major talking point in the final ODI but they turned up on the night, taking difficult catches in the deep and even inflicting a run out with a direct hit.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index after 29 World Cup 2023 games.
'I was confident pre-tournament itself that he would deliver when needed.'
IMAGES from the T20 World Cup Final played between Pakistan and England in Melbourne on Sunday.
Fawad Alam put Pakistan in control of the first Test against South Africa, chalking up a superb century to lead the home side to 308 for eight by the close of day two in Karachi for a first innings lead of 88 runs.
England underlined their domination in white ball cricket as they outclassed Pakistan by five wickets to win the T20 World Cup title on Sunday.
With this victory, Australia won the three-match T20I series against Pakistan by 2-0 as the first match was washed out.
It will be quite a role reversal with Australia being the proverbial underdogs in Thursday's semi-final of the Twenty20 World Cup against a red-hot Pakistan who have displayed rare consistency to set alight the tournament.
'Every team that's part of the tournament has worked its way up, has done something good and that's the reason they are here, and we take it like that.'
Stokes is also among the Test Cricket of the Year nominees alongside compatriot Jonny Bairstow, Australia opener Usman Khawaja and South Africa speedster Kagiso Rabada.
Pakistan play a three-match Test series against England starting on August 5, followed by three T20 International matches.
Sri Lanka opener Kusal Perera blasted the second fastest one-day fifty in their series-levelling two-wicket victory against Pakistan in the second ODI at Pallekele on Wednesday.
Bangladesh trail by 224 runs and still needed 25 runs to avoid the follow-on at the end of Day 4.
New Zealand are better organised and clinical in terms of execution and hence could start as the favourites in the first semi-final against Pakistan on Wednesday.
Leg-spinner Yasir Shah marks his return to the national men's team as Pakistan on Wednesday announced an 18-member squad for next month's two-match Test series against Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka ended the day at the score of 64/3, still trailing the hosts by 127 runs.
Experienced Pakistan players Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Sami received surprise call-ups to the national side for the two T20 matches against the touring Zimbabwe team after spending close to three years in the wilderness.
Babar Azam (104) hit his second Test century and Mohammad Rizwan 95 to stall Australia's march to victory and once they had departed, Pakistan were soon all out for 335.
'The strength of this England team is just how many people contribute. That is why they are a great team,' says Daren Sammy, the only captain to have won the T20 World Cup twice.
Many fans had Pakistani flags waving from the windows of their cars.
The Indian under-23 team lifted the ACC Emerging Trophy tournament as they thrashed arch-rivals Pakistan by nine wickets in the final with opener Lokesh Rahul (93) being the star of a lop-sided chase.
KL Rahul retained his third position, while India captain Virat Kohli improved a rung to the seventh spot in the ICC men's T20I Batting Rankings.
Umar Akmal has been dropped from the Pakistan Twenty20 squad to face England as he is under investigation for bringing the sport into disrepute in an off-field incident, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) reported on Thursday.
Pakistan head coach and outgoing chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq has tried to justify the axing of senior players Asad Shafiq, Muhammad Aamir and Shoaib Malik for the tour of New Zealand.
Pakistan ended their tour of Sri Lanka with a dramatic one-wicket victory in the second Twenty20 on Saturday to complete a 2-0 series win, having also triumphed in the Test and ODI encounters.
Pakistan will have 'revenge' on their mind for a recent off-field snub when they take on New Zealand in the T20 World Cup in Sharjah on Tuesday.
New Zealand pacers Tim Southee and Neil Wagner wrecked havoc to leave Pakistan reeling at the end of Day Two of the second Test here at the Seddon Park in Hamilton on Saturday. Both Southee and Wagner ripped through Pakistan's batting line-up to leave the visitors in tatters at 76 for 5 at stumps, still 195 runs short of hosts' first innings total of 271.
For South Africa, Rassie van der Dussen has advanced three slots to the sixth position, just one shy of his career-best, after scores of 34 not out and 52.
Pakistan had set England a target of 155. The hosts beat a battling Pakistan by three wickets.
Pakistan's Sarfraz Ahmed and Shoaib Malik shared a fluent partnership of 163 to lead the tourists to a consolation four-wicket win over England in the fifth and final one-day international in Cardiff on Sunday.
Pakistan spinners Yasir Shah and Nauman Ali took five wickets between them to restrict South Africa to 220 all out, but the home side faltered in reply to close on 33 for four on day one of a fast-moving first Test in Karachi on Tuesday.
While Rohit Sharma will be eager to test his ultra-aggressive batting template against the Asian giants, for Virat Kohli it is the perfect platform to return to form after enduring a tough phase in the last few years.
A victory at Hagley Oval to seal a 2-0 series sweep would also push the Black Caps firmly into contention for one of two berths in June's inaugural ICC World Test Championship final at Lord's.
Zimbabwe shocked Pakistan by one run in a thrilling T20 World Cup Super 12 match at Perth Stadium, in Perth, on Thursday.
Both Hayden and Philander asked the Pakistani fans to back the current team.
Images from the T20 World Cup Super 12s match between Afghanistan and Pakistan, in Dubai, on Friday.
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