Pakistan suffered an unexpected defeat on Monday at the hands of Afghanistan at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai. They were the favorites to win the game, but Afghanistan totally outplayed them in all three departments of the game. That defeat has certainly destroyed Pakistan’s chances in the semi-finals.
Notably, Pakistan had a brilliant start with two consecutive wins against Netherlands and Sri Lanka. But then they faced India at the Narendra Modi Stadium and suffered a horrible 7-wicket defeat. It was followed by a 62-run loss against Australia in Bengaluru.
But many had thought that Pakistan could manage a win, at least against Afghanistan, because they never lost to Afghanistan. But Pakistan lost their third straight game of the tournament and now have four games left to play. India, New Zealand, and South Africa are looking good enough to qualify for the semi-finals. The fight is for one spot.
Pakistan has four games left to play, and those matches are against tough teams. And their chances are also not in their hands now. Notably, Pakistan will face South Africa, Bangladesh, New Zealand, and England, respectively. If they win all four games, they will reach 10 points with six wins.
Notably, in a similar scenario, New Zealand qualified for the semifinals of the 2019 World Cup with 11 points, the same as Pakistan. But they had a better NRR. England has struggled, and Australia is also not looking as good as it used to be. So Pakistan still has chances.
But for that, they have to make sure that they win the coming games with a decent margin to improve the run rates so that if there are one or two teams with the same points, Pakistan can qualify on the basis of the better NRR. Well, it has been history for Pakistan that they made it to the knockouts in similar ways.
Just like in the 2022 T20 World Cup, when Pakistan qualified for the semis after Netherlands beat South Africa. Pakistan can’t afford to lose any more now and should hope that Australia loses at least one or two games.
