To qualify for semi-final, they need to beat England by an improbable 287 runs, hence will likely miss out for third World Cup in a row
In a game that you have to win by 287 runs, how do you prepare? Pakistan must defeat England in Kolkata on Saturday in order to advance to the World Cup semi-finals—and they must do so by the largest margin in their men’s ODI team’s history.
For the second time in a row, Pakistan will need to win by an unbelievable margin in order to surpass New Zealand in net run rate (NRR) going into their final group stage match. At Lord’s, they had to defeat Bangladesh by about 316 runs in order to escape in 2019; this time, the necessary margin of 287 runs is only slightly less.
The captain, Babar Azam, pointed out on Friday at Eden Gardens that “it’s in our mind, and we will try to do it,” highlighting Pakistan’s continued belief that they can force a semi-final against India. “We’ll attempt to carry out our plans for how we’re going to proceed tomorrow and how we’re going to hit the goal.
“We can’t just walk in and fire without thinking. We want that, but only after carefully arranging our strategy—how we want to play the first ten overs, then the next twenty, and how we have to reach our goal. This involves many factors, such as partnerships and the duration of each player’s time on the field.”
In their most recent game, Pakistan surprised everyone by losing to New Zealand in Bengaluru by 401 runs before Fakhar Zaman struck 126 off 81 balls to lead them to an unlikely victory via the DLS method. Babar also thinks that on Saturday, Fakhar will be the key.
“I would say if Fakhar is [batting] in the match for 20 or 30 overs, we can achieve that,” he stated. Then get in touch with Iftikhar Ahmed and Muhammad Rizwan. We have prepared for this, so we know we can handle it.”
Pakistan will be effectively eliminated before a ball is bowled tomorrow, as increasing their NRR will be nearly impossible if England asks them to bowl first. Even if they bowled England out for 100, they would need to hit 17 consecutive sixes – that is, complete the chase in 2.5 overs – to move above New Zealand’s NRR.
“There is still one match left.” “You never know with cricket,” Babar explained. “We’ll try to end on a high note and then see.” I believe the match against South Africa [which Pakistan lost by one wicket] cost us. We should have won that game, but we didn’t, which is why we’re in this position.”
There was little else Babar could do but talk up his team’s chances of qualifying, but the prospect of winning by such a margin seems fanciful – even against a confident England side. In reality, Pakistan is unlikely to advance to the World Cup semi-finals for the third time in a row.
Babar’s position as captain has come under intense media scrutiny in Pakistan over the last six weeks, and Pakistan’s group-stage exit will only add to the speculation about his future in the role. Regardless, he insisted that the noise did not distract him or his team.
“It’s just because I have not performed the way I should have in the World Cup; that’s why people are saying that I am under pressure,” Babar said in an interview. “I am not under any sort of pressure. I have been doing this for about two and a half to three years. I was the one who had to perform, and I was also the captain.
“Everyone is saying different things: he should be like this or like that. Everyone has my phone number if they need to give me advice… I didn’t feel any different or under any pressure as a result of this. I try to give my all in the field when I’m fielding, and when I’m batting, I think about how I can make runs and help the team win.”
With the bat, he has had a respectable tournament, scoring 282 runs at 40.28 with four half-centuries, but he has not reached the heights expected of him. “I wanted to put on a good show here. “I had high expectations, but I couldn’t live up to them,” Babar explained. “I accept that.”
“About the position of captain, as I said, once we go back to Pakistan – or after this match – we can see what happens,” Babar said of his future in the role. But I’m not thinking about that right now; I’m thinking about the next match.”
It might take a 287-run victory to quiet the critics.