Now it’s come to Do or Die Situation for the Pakistani Team in all of the rest matches they must have to win to keep their hopes alive. It doesn’t get much more devastating than a last-ball defeat to India in front of a raucous crowd at the MCG. But a loss to Zimbabwe on the last ball in Perth would well trump it.
Two tight defeats have left Pakistan on the verge of missing out on the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022, but not entirely out of the running for a place in the semi-finals. To be honest, it’s difficult (to qualify today), but we have two days, and we’ll get down and talk,” a dejected Babar Azam said after Zimbabwe’s defeat.
“We shall return stronger,” he said. “To be honest, we were not up to par in the first six overs of bowling, but we ended nicely later on.” But we had our collapse during batting practice.” The batting performance was inadequate. When I and (Mohammad) Rizwan were out, Shan (Masood) and Shadab (Khan) formed an alliance, but we could not end well after that collapse.”
Do or Die Situation for Pakistani Team
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Pakistan will need to win all three of their remaining matches [more on that later], while also relying on other results elsewhere. Babar and his team may now score a maximum of six points. So, in essence, the scenario is as follows:
Pakistan will not qualify if any two of India, South Africa, or Zimbabwe win two of their remaining three matches. That is a foregone conclusion. If Pakistan finishes with six points and just one team above them, it might come down to Net Run Rate, which India and South Africa now lead-in.
However, the simplest and ‘likeliest’ path to qualifying for Pakistan would require them to win their remaining three matches, India to beat South Africa, Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe to top the group, and Zimbabwe to fail to overcome either Bangladesh or the Netherlands. So it’s not mathematically impossible, but there are a lot of outcomes that need to favor Pakistan. Can they keep their half of the bargain? Here’s what to expect in the last three games…
Pakistan’s all three ‘Must-Win’ Matches to stay alive .5% in The WC T20
Sunday 30 October: Netherlands v Pakistan, Perth Stadium
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Now as per group requirement there is Do or Die Situation for Pakistani Team in rest of their fixtures So, Pakistan will need to win big against the Netherlands in order to set the tone for their quest for a semi-final position. The results of the other matches on Sunday 30 October, with Bangladesh facing Zimbabwe earlier in Brisbane and India and South Africa after Pakistan’s game in Perth, might also be crucial. The last and only T20I between Pakistan and the Netherlands was played 13 years ago, and the Asian side easily triumphed.
Thursday 03 November: Pakistan v South Africa, SCG, Sydney
The SCG will host a big Group 2 encounter, which might be decisive in Pakistan’s unexpected resurgence. South Africa is now rated third in the world, with a ferocious bowling attack and a strong batting squad. However, Pakistan has a solid recent record against the Proteas, with six victories in the past eight T20Is.
Sunday 06 November: Pakistan v Bangladesh, Adelaide Oval
If Pakistan is still alive on the last day, they will be optimistic about their prospects against Bangladesh. Pakistan has a strong recent T20I record in this match, with eight straight wins (and one abandoned game) since the Tigers last won in March 2016.
All Eyes are on now Remaining Group 2 Fixtures
- Sunday 30 October: Bangladesh v Zimbabwe, The Gabba, Brisbane
- Sunday 30 October: Netherlands v Pakistan, Perth Stadium
- Sunday 30 October: India v South Africa, Perth Stadium
- Wednesday 02 November: Zimbabwe v Netherlands, Adelaide Oval
- Wednesday 02 November: India v Bangladesh, Adelaide Oval
- Thursday 03 November: Pakistan v South Africa, SCG, Sydney
- Sunday 06 November: South Africa v Netherlands, Adelaide Oval
- Sunday 06 November: Pakistan v Bangladesh, Adelaide Oval
- Sunday 06 November: Zimbabwe v India, MCG, Melbourne