How Pakistan would need a helping hand from India and Afghanistan to reach the semifinals
Pakistan will hope India beat Sri Lanka on Thursday; If Afghanistan win all of their three matches, then even two wins will not be enough for Pakistan to go through.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 match between Bangladesh and Pakistan, at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Tuesday. (PTI) Pakistan managed to live another day at the World Cup, courtesy a seven-wicket win over Bangladesh which kept their semifinals still alive. Bangladesh were knocked out of contention. Here is a look at how their semifinals prospects are placed.
Where are they now?
Their third win, which ended their four-game losing streak, helped them to jump past Afghanistan into the fifth spot. They have six points now, same as Afghanistan, who have a game in hand. They are set to play New Zealand and England, which are must-win games.
Read about Pakistan qualification scenarios in Bengali by clicking here
Is their fate in their own hands?
With just two more matches remaining and 10 being the maximum points they can get to, Pakistan need help from elsewhere to make it to the last-four.
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First up, pray for India to win
Yes, come Thursday, the whole of Pakistan would be cheering for India who take on Sri Lanka. If India wins, it will eliminate Sri Lanka, which means one less competition to fend off.
Then hope Afghanistan’s juggernaut ends
If Afghanistan win all of their three matches, then even two wins will not be enough for Pakistan to go through.
So apart from winning both their remaining matches against New Zealand and England, they need Afghanistan to win only one of their three remaining matches against the Netherlands, Australia and South Africa, which will keep them to 8 points. If Afghanistan win two and have 10 points on board, then it could come down to net run-rate.
Will that suffice?
No. They need more help, especially from teams placed at No 2, 3 & 4 in the points table. South Africa (10) need one more win to make the semifinals, while New Zealand (8) and Australia (8) need two more to go through without any hassle. Among these teams, Pakistan are set to play New Zealand, who they must beat at all costs. And with South Africa and New Zealand playing each other, Pakistan would ideally want the former to win it and also hope the Kiwis lose to Sri Lanka. If NZ win one of the two against South Africa or Sri Lanka then they will end with 10 points and come down to NRR.
Follow all the action from the Cricket World Cup 2023 on our special World Cup section. You can also find the latest stats, like the top scorer and the highest wicket-taker of the current edition, upcoming World Cup fixtures and the points table on the site.
Can anyone else help them?
Of course, if South Africa don’t win any of their remaining matches, they will also end up with 10 points, which Pakistan can match. Then even Australia, who are finding form, can also end up with 10 points. With matches against England, Afghanistan and Bangladesh coming up, the road is slightly easy for them. From Pakistan’s point of view, they need Australia to beat Afghanistan and lose to England and Bangladesh, which will keep them at 10 points, bringing NRR into consideration.
Matches in hand:
India: vs Sri Lanka, vs South Africa, vs The Netherlands
South Africa: vs New Zealand, vs India vs Afghanistan
New Zealand: vs South Africa, vs Pakistan vs Sri Lanka
Australia: vs England, vs Afghanistan, vs Bangladesh
Pakistan: vs New Zealand, vs England
Afghanistan: vs The Netherlands. vs Australia vs South Africa
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