Hopes alive

Team Pakistan stays in contention for a place in the semi-finals of the ICC World Cup 2023 thank to opener Fakhar Zaman’s blistering 81-ball 126 runs, studded with 11 sixes and eight boundaries, that helped Green Shirts beat New Zealand in a key round match of the tournament in Bengaluru on Saturday under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method. Set to score a challenging 402 in 50 overs, the Babar Azam men saw the target reduced to 342 in 41 overs due to rain interruption. When the rain intervened for a second time, Team Pakistan had scored 200-1 in 25.3 overs – ahead of the DLS target by 21 runs. And that remained the final outcome.

True to their reputation of being unpredictable, Team Pakistan displayed great determination and an unusual calm while chasing a target that could send panic among best of the best. Mindful of the possible rain disruption, the run chase by Green Shirts was pretty calculated as never during their innings they fell short of the target under the DLS method. Their much-vaunted blowing, however, looked pretty ordinary, as all of their fast bowlers, except for Mohammad Wasim Jr, conceded in excess of 8 runs an over.

With one last match to play, against England, on coming Saturday, Team Pakistan’s chances of making it to the final four also depend on the result of the match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Let’s hope there is a “Thank You Sri Lanka” miracle, just like the “Thank You Australia” one in the 1992 World Cup when the down and out Aussies had defeated the West Indies to pave the way for Pakistan’s entry into the semi-final stage. That Pakistan then won the semi-final and then the final to lift the coveted crystal trophy and crowned World Champions for the only time in cricket history goes without saying. Good luck Team Pakistan!

Published in The Express Tribune, November 6^th, 2023.

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