T20 World Cup: How Pakistan can still qualify for the semi-finals | Cricket News

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NEW DELHI: Two matches and two defeats – this is exactly the same pattern India had in their ill-fated campaign last year in the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE. India failed to progress to the knockout stage despite registering three comprehensive wins after the two defeats against Pakistan and New Zealand.
This time Pakistan is facing a similar fate. They lost to India in their first group match, before suffering a shock defeat to Zimbabwe in their second match. However, all is not lost for the 2009 champions. However, like India in 2021, their fate depends on the outcome of other matches in their group.
Pakistan have three matches left in the Super 12 phase, against the Netherlands (October 30), South Africa (November 3) and Bangladesh (November 6). They are in 5th place in the six-team group. The top teams will advance to the semi-finals.
(All statistics in this article are updated until the Zimbabwe vs Bangladesh Group 2 match on 30 October)
How the group stands after two rounds of matches:
* India top the group with four points, after two consecutive wins against Pakistan and the Netherlands.
* South Africa are second with three points — a big win against Bangladesh and rain washed out ‘no result’ against Zimbabwe.
* Zimbabwe are third, behind South Africa on NRR, after an upset win against Pakistan after the no result against the Proteas.
* The top three is followed by Bangladesh, who have had two contrasting results so far — a big win against the Netherlands and a massive defeat against the Proteas.
* Pakistan and Netherlands have zero points after losing both their two matches so far. Pakistan is ahead of the Dutch on NRR.
How Pakistan can advance to the semi-finals:
* The first and most important criteria are big wins in the remaining three games, which will bring their tally to 6 points.
* India also need to win all three of their remaining matches to ease the pressure on Pakistan — that’s wins against South Africa, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, who are all in the reckoning for the knockout stage. This will leave India with 10 points.
* South Africa must lose two of the three remaining games — notably against India and Pakistan, which would leave them on 5 points.
* Zimbabwe, who are also on 3 points, must also lose two of the remaining three matches. The African nation is currently playing Bangladesh, after which they have matches left to play against the Netherlands and India.
* Bangladesh, with 2 points, also need to lose two of their remaining three matches. They are currently playing against Zimbabwe in Brisbane.
* Any deviation from the above criteria and Pakistan’s journey in the tournament will end after the group stage.
Statistics courtesy: Rajesh Kumar



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