Pakistan have defeated South Africa by 33 runs (DLS Method) in the 36th match of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup. A comprehensive victory on the back of excelling across departments has kept Pakistan’s chances of qualifying for the semi-finals alive.
Advertisement
Chasing a 186-run target, South Africa hurt their chances of cementing a semi-final berth today itself by faltering in both the innings. While substandard bowling and fielding resulted in them needing to seal a mountainous chase, wicket-keeper batter Quinton de Kock (0) and batter Rilee Rossouw (7) getting out in the first three overs didn’t allow the Proteas to make progress in an ideal manner.
An expected rain break taking away six overs from the match further made life difficult for South Africa as they were required to score 73 runs in five overs with a lower order bereft of batting depth.
Opening the bowling for his team as usual, speedster Shaheen Shah Afridi was the pick of their bowlers with figures of 3-0-14-3. While vice-captain Shadab Khan picked a couple of crucial wickets, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf chipped in with a wicket each.
Winning the toss for the first time in this World Cup, captain Babar Azam’s decision of batting first wasn’t justified by his batters initially as they were reduced to 43/4 right after the powerplay.
However, a match-winning 35-ball 82-run sixth-wicket partnership between Iftikhar Ahmed (51) and Shadab Khan (52) turned the table for Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground tonight. A deserving candidate of the Player of the Match award, Shadab’s maiden T20I half-century comprised of three fours and four sixes at a strike rate of 236.36.
How many chances of Pakistan to qualify for semi final of T20 World Cup 2022?
Pakistan, whose chances of qualifying for the next round had received a major hit after their consecutive defeats earlier in the tournament, have somehow managed to stay alive ahead of their last Super 12 match against Bangladesh in Adelaide.
Only Pakistan cricket can have such a start to the tournament & then become the first & only team to beat the only unbeaten team in this #T20WorldCup . 🙏🏽😂🇵🇰 #pakvsa
— Asim Azhar (@AsimAzharr) November 3, 2022
For starters, Azam and his men will have to defeat Bangladesh to stand any chance of qualifying for the semi-final. Currently at the third position on Group 2 points table, Pakistan need at least one out of South Africa or India to lose their last match on November 6. Even if they beat Bangladesh, Pakistan will be knocked out if both South Africa and India also win on Sunday.
While a South African loss will guarantee Pakistan of a semi-final berth, an Indian loss will bring the NRR (Net Run Rate) into the equation. Readers must note that Pakistan (1.117) have a better NRR than India (0.730) at the moment.
UPDATE: With Netherlands beating South Africa earlier today, Pakistan vs Bangladesh match has turned into a virtual quarter-final. While the winner of this match will qualify for the semis, the loser will be knocked out of the tournament.
