After being thumped by the arch-rivals India in their tournament opener at Melbourne Cricket Ground on October 23rd, it was Zimbabwe who recently outclassed Pakistan in their group-stage fixture of the T20 World Cup 2022 on Thursday, October 27.
The contest between the two sides went right down to the wire and it was Zimbabwe, who emerged victorious by just one run and recorded another mind-boggling upset in this edition of the T20 World Cup.
With this, Pakistan now has two losses from as many matches in the tournament and they are on the brink of exiting the T20 World Cup in the Super 12 stage itself.
However, as the renowned commentator Nasser Hussain explained Pakistan Cricket once – “One minute down, next minute up!” it will not be justified to write them off completely after two back-to-back setbacks.
Playing semi-finals looks practically impossible for the Men in Green, however, there are still chances, purely on a mathematical basis for them to qualify for the semi-finals but a lot will depend on the outcomes of other fixtures in Group 2.
How can Pakistan still qualify for T20 World Cup 2022?
Foremost, Pakistan needs to make sure that they win their remaining group stage fixtures with a good margin. They are scheduled to take on the Netherlands on 30 October, while they will face South Africa on 3 November, and Bangladesh on 6 November. This will help them to get six points on the leaderboard.
After winning all their remaining games, the Babar Azam-led side will have to hope that the top two teams in their group, which are currently India and South Africa, remain with a maximum of six points or below to keep their semis hopes alive.
Here it is worth noting that if any of India, South Africa, or Zimbabwe manage to win two more games from their remaining three fixtures, Pakistan will be eliminated from the tournament automatically.
Remaining fixtures of Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2022
- Pakistan vs Netherlands (October 30)
- Pakistan vs South Africa (November 3)
- Pakistan vs Bangladesh (November 6)
Team India currently tops Group 2 with two wins from as many games and has four points to their account with a healthy net run rate of +1.425. They will next take on South Africa on October 30 while they will face Bangladesh on November 2 and Zimbabwe on November 6.
As for South Africa, they have three points from two games, with one win and one no result. They are currently placed in second place in the Group 1 leaderboard with an impressive net run rate of +5.200. They will take on Pakistan on November 3 and it will be one of the crucial games for both sides keeping the knockout place in mind.
