Pakistan finally ended their biggest losing streak in World Cup history and registered a much-needed win in the game against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. They won by seven wickets and collected two important points to remain relevant in the semi-final race.
It was the comeback man, Fakhar Zaman, who took the team to victory after a stunning bowling display by the pacers. Now Pakistan has six points on the board, and they have jumped to fifth place on the points table. However, four consecutive defeats haven’t helped them much.
That’s what Fakhar admitted after the win. He also revealed that the defeat against India broke the morale of the team, which resulted in back-to-back losses. Notably, these two arch rivals met at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on October 14. Despite a good start with the bat, Pakistan lost their last eight wickets for just 36 runs.
Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav triggered the collapse, and Pakistan got all out for just 191 runs and couldn’t play even 45 overs. In reply, the batting led by Rohit Sharma chased down the target with almost 20 overs left and won by seven wickets.
After that, Pakistan lost to Australia, Afghanistan, and South Africa as well. After the win against Bangladesh, Fakhar said in the post-match presentation, “Of course, an India and Pakistan match is a very big deal. If I say it doesn’t make a difference, I would be wrong.”
He stated that the team tried to bounce back from that loss, did well against South Africa, and will improve. Pakistan still has a slight chance to make it to the knockout stages; for that, they need to win their remaining two fixtures and hope that some results go in their favor. Pakistan will face England and New Zealand in their last two games.
