ADELAIDE: Pakistan need to win against Bangladesh in Adelaide — and for other results to go their way — to grab a place in the Twenty20 World Cup semi-finals as the Super 12 phase wraps up with a flurry of matches on Sunday.
Babar Azam’s side have battled back to stay in the hunt for the last four spot after losing their first two matches and are currently third in the wide-open Group 2 table while the two sides above them — South Africa and India — can seal places in the semi-finals with regulation wins over cricketing minnows.
South Africa suffered their first major setback with a 33-run defeat to Pakistan in Sydney on Thursday but Temba Bavuma’s team will aim to restore normal service against the already-eliminated Netherlands in the early match at Adelaide Oval.
A win would ensure South Africa finish in the top two and advance to next week’s semis, but defeat or a washout would see them miss the knockout rounds for a third T20 World Cup in succession while opening the door for Pakistan and Bangladesh.
India, who lead the group with six points, one ahead of the Proteas, will be strong favourites to fend off Zimbabwe in the evening match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and sew up top spot.
Pakistan play fourth-placed Bangladesh in the second leg of the Adelaide Oval double-header and will be cheering on the Netherlands before taking the field.
With both Asian sides on four points, one less than South Africa, the winner will reach the semi-finals if the Proteas slip up.
However, if South Africa advance, only Pakistan would likely still be in contention given Bangladesh’s net run rate (-1.276) is well behind India’s (+0.73).
With victories in their last eight completed T20 matches against Bangladesh, Pakistan will be expected to keep the semi-final race alive until at least the final match and pray Zimbabwe can do the unthinkable against Rohit Sharma’s India.
“You don’t need any motivation, whether it’s the World Cup or not,” Pakistan batsman Shan Masood told reporters. “Just playing for your country, putting that shirt on, I think for every individual in this camp, it means a lot.”
Shan praised his team’s character after suffering heartbreaking losses to arch-rivals India and Zimbabwe before finding form and drubbing South Africa in a dramatic, rain-affected match in Sydney.
“The timing of the losses proved costly for us because we are still not in that top two position,” Shan said.
“But we haven’t lost hope. Life teaches us harsh lessons and this was one of them. The way it affected the boys, they lost sleep, their morale went down.
“And how we responded after those setbacks showed our character and it was a big thing. The best to come out of failure is that you learn from your mistakes. If we look at it from a balanced point of view, then we see the team has responded well since the loss to Zimbabwe.”
Shan said the way Pakistan fought back to post 185-9 against South Africa, after being in trouble at 43-4, and then winning by 33 runs via the DLS method had lifted the morale of the team.
“Mood is good. South Africa dominated the early stages of the game, but the way we came back and bowled well, even after the rain break, we kept up our momentum,” said Shan.
“So we will focus on taking two points from the Bangladesh game and that is in our hands. Hope will always be there till the last ball is bowled in this group.”
Bangladesh, who had narrow wins over the Netherlands and Zimbabwe, gave India a scare in their previous match — decided by the DLS method — and are level at four points with Pakistan, but with a far inferior run-rate.
But technical consultant Sridharan Sriram said he is proud of the show his boys have put on in this tournament.
“This is the best tournament Bangladesh has ever had in a T20 World Cup,” Sriram told reporters. “We’ve never won two games in Super 12s in the history of Bangladesh cricket, so we’ve done that, so I think the boys should be proud of themselves.”
Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2022
