T20 World Cup 2022: How can Pakistan still qualify for semi-final?

After their defeat at the hands of India and Zimbabwe, Pakistan were on the verge of an early elimination from the 2022 T20 World Cup. However, with a win against the Netherlands, they have kept themselves alive even after India’s loss to South Africa on October 30 at Optus Stadium.

Their chances of qualifying for the next round look slim at the moment but mathematically, very much possible. In order to do so, the Men in Green will have to win their remaining two matches against Bangladesh and South Africa and will then have to hope that either India loses to Bangladesh and Zimbabwe or South Africa are beaten by the Netherlands.

This means, in case Pakistan win their remaining games and India fails to win any, they will be two points clear of the Men in Blue while if South Africa fails to win any, Pakistan will have a one-point lead over them. Thus, in case any of the above mentioned scenarios happen, Babar Azam and his men will go through and the Net Run Rate (NRR) will also not come into the picture.

Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan star at Pakistan breeze past Netherlands

Mohammad Rizwan, who was going through a rough patch in the T20 World Cup finally returned back to form to help Pakistan win their first match of the competition. After losing his opening partner Babar Azam early, the wicket-batter held his nerve, played a mature knock of 49 runs of 39 deliveries to help the team beat the Netherlands by 6 wickets.

Shadab Khan too was very impressive in the match. The all-rounder picked up three wickets giving away just 22 runs in his four overs, Based on his incredible performance with the ball and in the field, the 24-year-old was also adjudged as the Player of the Match.

Now, amidst a lot of positives, Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi’s form remain to be a concern. Babar is yet to score in double figures in this tournament while the premier pacer picked up just one wicket so far in the tournament. With the hope of qualifying for the next round, the team will have to win their remaining two matches and thus, these two key players need to find their rhythm. Otherwise, it’s going to be a really tough time for the Pakistan team going forward.

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