'We don’t care who we face in semis, we'll beat them' : Mohammad Rizwan

Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan believes his team can beat any opposition in the semifinals of the 20-20 World Cup. The elegant right-hand batter's comments came after Pakistan breezed past Namibia by 45 runs on Tuesday (November 2), and sealed a place in the semis of the showpiece event. Rizwan was the chief architect of this thumping win as he scored an unbeaten 79.

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The wicketkeeper-batter paced his innings beautifully and saw off a phenomenal opening spell of Ruben Trumpelmann, who started with a maiden over to Rizwan. It was not an easy passage of play and the right-hand batter had to curb his natural instincts before playing his shots. The 29-year-old was also well-supported by skipper Baber Azam.

The duo formed a vital 113-run partnership for the opening wicket and helped the team win its fourth straight match. Pakistan now will face the runners-up of Group A, which is either going to be Australia or South Africa. West Indies' chances of making the semis is next to negligible. Rizwan is not bothered about the opposition in the semi-finals and feels his team is good enough to beat any team on the day.

“We don’t see the rival team,” said Rizwan.

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“Whoever comes in the semi-finals we can take them on and the way our team is doing we will win that as well.”

The wicketkeeper-batter has hardly put a foot wrong in the shortest format this year as he has amassed a jaw-dropping 1661runs in T20s. Rizwan has carried that form in the ongoing 20-20 World Cup as well and has produced two quality innings against India and Namibia. The 29-year-old has provided solid starts upfront along with Babar Azam, setting a platform for the batters to follow.

Pakistan are certainly looking dangerous and are marching ahead to lift their second 20-20 World Cup title.