Pakistan all but out of World Cup semi-final race
Last updated on: 04 July,2019 12:51 pm
All is not yet lost for Pakistan. It needs to bat first, score 400 and restrict Bangladesh to 84.
(Web Desk) – New Zealand s 119-run drubbing against England in World Cup 2019 means the host is through to the semis while Pakistan s hopes of a last-four finish are all but over. Even if Pakistan beats Bangladesh in its last league game by the same margin, it will be New Zealand that goes through the semifinal on account of its higher Net Run Rate.
This means that Pakistan are now out of the qualification race and the Men In Green will now be unable to repeat their feat of 1992 when they had won the World Cup in England under Imran Khan s captaincy.
Chasing a competitive 306, New Zealand was bundled out for 186 with Mark Wood snapping up three wickets.
All is not yet lost for Pakistan. It needs to bat first, score 400 and restrict Bangladesh to 84. Batting second, they don t stand a chance.
After the end of today s match, New Zealand have 11 points from nine games and their NRR is +o.175. On the other hand, Pakistan have 9 points from 8 games and they have a match left against Bangladesh on Friday.
Pakistan can reach upto 11 points after defeating Bangladesh but a win will not be enough to help them reach the semi-finals as they need to surpass New Zealand s NRR to qualify for semi-finals.
If Pakistan get to bat second against Bangladesh, they have zero chance of qualifying for semi-finals. If Pakistan get the chance to bat first, they need to defeat Bangladesh by a margin of 300 runs.
If Pakistan bat first and they make 400 then they need to dismiss Bangladesh for 84 runs and win by 316 runs in order to finish above New Zealand. One more scenario is, Pakistan bat first and dismiss opponent for 38 runs and win by 312 runs.
The possibility of these scenarios to become a reality are next to impossible, which means that practically Pakistan have no hope of qualifying for semi-final but mathematically it is still in the race. The three teams which have already qualified for the semi-finals are Australia, India and England.