World Cup 2019: Pakistan semi-finals hopes are dashed by England with a win against Kiwis

The game between England and New Zealand was an important one to keep the tournament alive but it ended up as a one-sided affair. Eoin Morgan’s men crushed the Black Caps in every possible manner and their team reached the semi-finals for the first time in 27 years. With the New Zealand team’s capitulation, Pakistan is almost out of contention for the knock-out stages.

Though they have an outside chance which is almost impossible to cap off their opening batsman, Imam-ul-Haq has cleared out the air about their plans for the last group fixture. Till now Pakistan has 9 points from 8 games. After their humiliating loss to arch-rivals, India the Men in Green bounced back unpredictably. They won their last three ties and gave their fans a new sense of hope. Still, their fortunes depended on other teams run in the tournament.

England’s dominance put Pakistan in tremors

The Asian team has blown hot and cold in the 2019 World Cup and that’s why now they are staring at an untoward situation. They started their campaign on a sour note with a thrashing from the Caribbean boys. Sarfraz Ahmed led-side lost crucial games in the first half of the tournament which has now come to haunt them. Even the youngster, Imam-ul-Haq has admitted their inconsistency as a reason for their failure to qualify for the next stage.

The left-hander said that they will treat their tie against Bangladesh as a normal game as they want to sign off on a good note. He confirmed that the team will play best cricket irrespective of their qualification chances. According to Imam, the game against Kangaroos made the difference in their roller-coaster campaign. He concluded by talking about his first World Cup experience and how it will help him in the future.

Imam-ul-Haq comments to Press: “We are not thinking on the lines of not reaching semi-finals. Our plan is to play the semi-final with an all-out effort and in the end, if that doesn’t happen then we have to play positive cricket and end on a high. I think the Australia defeat hurts me a lot. I was set and playing well. I should have won that match for Pakistan. We lost four quick wickets and I think I should have won that game and we would have beaten a big team in the World Cup. I am very young so I have learned a lot in this World Cup.”

Pakistan has always been an unpredictable force in ICC events. Though it is exciting to watch them in such situations but this time it has cost them the final four berth.