Pakistan cricket team has defeated New Zealand in a must-win match of the ICC World Cup 2023 played on Saturday by 21 runs on the DLS meth after the rain stopped the play for the second time in Bengaluru.
The Men in Green were 200/1 in 25.3 overs while chasing the revised target of 342 in 41 overs. Fakhar Zaman scored an unbeaten 126, hitting 11 sixes and 7 fours in the process.
Earlier, New Zealand scored 401/7 in 50 overs. Rachin Ravindra (108) and Kane Williamson (95) were instrumental with the bat.
Pakistan had to win the match in order to keep their hopes of reaching semi-finals alive and it paid off with the Qudrat Ka Nizam. But the fact is that the way Fakhar Zaman and Babar Zaman held the chase of a mammoth 402-run target if the rain did not stop the match, Pakistan would have easily defeated the NZ as the pitch was not offering much for the bowlers.
Despite a win, Pakistan’s path to the World Cup semi-final still remains difficult as they don’t have things in their own hands but are still dependent on the results of New Zealand and Afghanistan.
As much as Pakistan need to beat England on November 11 in Kolkata and pray that Sri Lanka do their job against the Black Caps in Bengaluru on November 9, the Men in Green need Afghanistan to lose one of their remaining two matches — against Australia and South Africa — or both (preferably) because the Afghans have same points (8) as Babar Azam’s men despite playing one less match.
Now Pakistan need Australia to beat England and India to beat South Africa in tomorrow’s match. Pakistan also need Australia to beat Afghanistan and England to beat the Netherlands. More important of all Pakistan need Sri Lanka to beat New Zealand, who is currently placed 4th in the Points table with 8 points.
If all the results go to the above-calculated scenario, India will finish first with 18 points, they would be followed by South Africa with 14 points. Australia will finish third with the same points as the Proteas while Pakistan, with 10 points, will finish fourth and qualify for the knockout stage of the World Cup.
