Pakistan will face South Africa in what will be a stern challenge for the Asian side, during the 36th match of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2022, at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday (tomorrow).
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After losing against India in a cliffhanger of a contest in Melbourne, Pakistan became victims of a huge upset after bowing down before Zimbabwe in their very next match as well, to now stare at the exit door of the tournament.
With fate no longer in their hands, and to preserve that remaining flicker of hope to stay in contention for the semi-final berth, they will now face the only undefeated team in this World Cup next, in what is, needless to say, another do-or-die contest for them.
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Despite the sample size being relatively small, Pakistan registered only their first T20I victory on Australian soil last Sunday, when they defeated the Netherlands by 6 wickets at the Perth Stadium.
In the points table, they are currently placed at the fifth spot, with 2 points after three matches, and a Net Run Rate (NRR) of +0.765.
Pakistan T20 records at Sydney Cricket Ground (updated)**
The lone T20I that Pakistan had played at this venue against Australia in November 2019, had been washed off due to rain.
With the rain having already reduced the aforementioned match to a 15-Overs-a-side encounter, on the back of skipper Babar Azam’s knock of 59* (38), Pakistan had posted the total of 107/5.
In reply, Australia had raced off to the score of 41/0 in mere 3.1 Overs, but with rain intervening again, the match was called-off.
In the ODI format at this venue, however, Pakistan have managed to win mere 6 of 21 ODIs, with their last victory coming in the year 1997 against the West Indies.
Across the Tests at the SCG, Pakistan have won 2 of the 8 matches from 1973-2017. While 5 of them have ended as losses, one encounter ended in a Draw.
** Pakistan played their first complete match at the SCG against South Africa in the T20 World Cup 2022 on November 3, which they won by 33 runs (DLS method).
Allrounder Shadab Khan (52 off 22) was the highest run-scorer for the team during the match, while Shaheen Afridi took the most number of wickets – 3, during his three-Over spell.
