New Delhi: Pakistan captain, Babar Azam sounded like a man on a mission ahead of the crucial England tie in the ICC World Cup 2023 on Saturday. With New Zealand’s victory over the Sri Lankans on Thursday, Pakistan and Afghanistan are virtually out of the tournament as the Kiwis are all but confirmed for the semis. But still there is an outside chance, specially for the Men in Green, which is a difficult task and it would be a miracle if it happens.
For Pakistan, if they bat first and score 300 runs on the board, they have to restrict the England side within a paltry score of only 13 runs. If England bat first and are bowled out for 50 runs only, then the Shaheens will have to chase it down in only 15 balls.
Speaking to the press, Babar said that they have a plan but that doesn’t mean that they will start the game by blindly hitting everything that comes their way. He also assessed the presence of Fakhar Zaman, who he feels can help the team to achieve this huge target.
”We have planned regarding net run-rate against England. However we cannot start blind slogging from ball one. We do want hitting but we have a plan to play powerplay and building partnerships. Fakhar Zaman making a stay at the crease can achieve us our target”, Azam told.
Qualification scenario for Pakistan:
Score 300, restrict England to 13.
Score 400, restrict England to 112.
Score 450, restrict England to 162.
Score 500, restrict England at 211. pic.twitter.com/dv6GFKbyf0
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) November 9, 2023
As of now, New Zealand have a net run-rate of +0.743 and Pakistan have +0.036. Clearly, the 1992 World Champions have a mountain to climb and would be expecting few things to go in their favour.
Pakistan play their last game at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, while New Zealand will have the semi-final game against the hosts, India.
