Pakistanis pray for India win - and for a good reason

Men in Blue’s victory against England will boost Green Shirts’ semi-final chance

KARACHI: Given the hostilities between Pakistan and India that manifest themselves also as one of the greatest rivalries on a cricket ground, it is unusual for the fans of the Green Shirts to cheer for the Men in Blue.

But this time around, Pakistanis are praying for India to win their next Cricket World Cup clash against host England at Edgbaston on Sunday and for a good reason.

Pakistan registered their fourth win in the World Cup after a nail-biting victory against Afghanistan on Saturday and secured the fourth slot on the tournament’s table with nine points.

Wasim's brilliance seals Pakistan's turnaround win over Afghanistan

But the Green Shirts still need to win their final league match against Bangladesh and hope that England lose one of their remaining two games so that they can qualify for the semi-finals of the mega event.

This means that a win for India against England will significantly improve Pakistan’s chances of qualifying for the next round.

Also for Pakistan to go through with nine points, England should lose both their matches, while Sri Lanka should lose one more and Bangladesh lose at least one of theirs and finish with a lower net run rate than Pakistan

Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will also benefit from an England defeat as it will increase their chances of landing on the final four spots.

England's World Cup on the line against India

If Bangladesh overpower both Pakistan and India in their last two games, they end with 11 points and would ideally want to see England lose at least one more match and finish with a maximum of ten points.

If Sri Lanka down both West Indies and India, they would finish with 10 points and then they would need England to lose to both India and New Zealand and both Bangladesh and Pakistan should lose at least one match each and finish on nine points.

So it is safe to say that the millions of fans of all Asian teams will be cheering for the same team on Sunday.