It would be easier to say no to the question at this point, however, that’s not the case. There’s still some hope for the Pakistan cricket team and their heartbreaking fans. It, however, rests almost entirely on India’s shoulders to take Pakistan through to the semi-finals. It had come down to ifs and buts before South Africa crushed India on Sunday, and it will now take nothing less than a miracle to take Pakistan to the next stage.
Pakistani fans were banking on a strong Indian side to trump South Africa, however, the Proteas were too good with their bowling effort. As most Pakistani fans suspected, India didn’t (or couldn’t) deliver their best. South Africa cruised to a win thanks to their poor fielding, almost certainly confirming their semi-finals berth. They still need to win one of their remaining two matches to be sure of a place in the semis; they will go against Pakistan and Netherlands next.
Indian fans are over the moon with the outcome of yesterday’s loss to South Africa, claiming ‘Kohli and co. have dropped Pakistan at the Karachi airport’. Indian fans are also laughing at Pakistan for depending on the neighbors to take them through. India’s chances have also taken a hit as their next two games and now must-win matches; they play against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe next and an upset could send India packing.
| Position | Team | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | +2.772 | 5 | |
| 2 | 3 | +0.844 | 4 | |
| 3 | 3 | -1.533 | 4 | |
| 4 | 3 | -0.050 | 3 | |
| 5 | 3 | +0.765 | 2 | |
| 6 | 3 | -1.948 | 0 |
What’s Next for Pakistan?
Pakistan will now play South Africa on 3 November in Sydney and Bangladesh on 6 November in Adelaide. It goes without saying that both are do-or-die games, and if Pakistan manages to win both, the Men in Green will end up with six points and a healthy net run rate.
They will, however, need almost all other results to go their way. If South Africa loses both their matches (against Pakistan and Netherlands), they will end up with five points, and Pakistan can go through.
If Bangladesh beats India, and India beats Zimbabwe, the Rohit-Sharma led side will finish on six points, and it could all come down to NRR between the three Asian sides. Pakistan has a better run rate and will likely make it to the semi-finals in this case.
Another point of concern is the weather on Wednesday when India will go head to head against Bangladesh with a 70% chance of precipitation. If the match gets washed out, both teams will get one point and end up with five points each after four matches. If India wins the next game against Zimbabwe and South Africa defeats Netherlands, both teams will have seven points (if Pakistan defeats South Africa on 3 November), and they will qualify for the semi-finals.
The only team that isn’t in contention for the last four spots from Group 2 is Netherlands. What it means with all these scenarios is that it will likely go down to the last day of the group stages. Three matches are scheduled for 6 November including South Africa vs. Netherlands, Pakistan vs. Bangladesh, and India vs. Zimbabwe.
Looks like Pakistan needs a miracle like the 1992 World Cup, but miracles don’t happen that easily.
Here’s the complete T20 World Cup schedule for the remainder of the matches.
What are your thoughts on Pakistan’s chances? Let us know in the comments section.
After losing to Zimbabwe, Pakistan simply doesn’t deserve to be in the semis.
All these permutations are just to keep the fans engaged so they get disappointed again once the miserable and short lived tour for the WC of Pakistan would be over soon.