Category: Sport

Pakistan team is out of the ongoing cricket world cup after Bangladesh crossed the calculated net run rate margin, which Pakistan needed to reserve a seat in semis, today in Lord’s Cricket Stadium.

Earlier, Pakistan chose to bat after winning the toss and scored 315 at the loss of nine wickets.

Chasing was not an option for Pakistan as then the net run rate differential margin with New Zealand was impossible to achieve batting second. Pakistan are currently on 9 points from 8 matches with 4 wins, 3 losses and one washout. Their current net run rate sits at -0.792 while New Zealand are at 0.175.

They made a remarkable comeback in the ongoing tournament but could not make it to the semis.

Earlier, Pakistan lost three of their first five matches with West Indies, India and Australia.

SRINAGAR: Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed wants to make a miracle happen against Bangladesh in their last game to qualify in the semi-final of the World Cup.

Bangladesh and Pakistan will face-off against each other in their last game. Bangladesh are already out of the semi-final content while the men in green need to pull off a miracle to make it to the semi-final.

If Bangladesh win the toss and opt to bat first, Pakistan will be eliminated even before a bowl is bowled while if they bat first, they need to score 350 runs and win the match by at least 316 runs.

With an uphill task to complete, Sarfraz said in the press conference that they will try their best to score even 500-600 runs.

“It is very difficult, 316 runs is a big margin. It is not easy to score 500 runs, however we will try our best to achieve it,” the skipper told reporters. “I don’t know what the study is behind this, but I can’t do anything. Definitely, we’re interested in finishing on a high note. So we will try our best in tomorrow’s match.”

The Pakistan captain also said they will play for their pride in the last game and wants to end the tournament on high.

“If you talk about the previous matches, yes, Pakistan lost four, but it is a World Cup match. Both teams look stronger, so hopefully we will do well as a team. We could have won against Australia, but we missed a golden opportunity. We didn’t do well in the initial matches which cost us,” he concluded.

In an inspiring run similar to their 1992 World Cup-winning campaign, Pakistan have won three consecutive games to be alive in the ongoing 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup. The Green Brigade had climbed to the fourth spot in the points table before England’s 31-run win over India on Sunday pushed the Sarfaraz Ahmed-led side a place down.

With a game left, Pakistan still have a chance of making it to the knockouts and former skipper Waqar Younis feels if Sarfaraz’s team enter the semis, they would be the most dangerous side.

Waqar, however, also pointed out that Pakistan will not only have to win but should also raise the bar in their last league game against Bangladesh.

“It is actually becoming quite scary at this point! Is history repeating itself? I have no idea but if Pakistan do make the semi-finals then they are going to be such a dangerous side. For that to happen they will need some results to go their way, but most importantly of all they will have to beat Bangladesh,” Waqar wrote in his ICC Column.

“To beat Bangladesh they will have to play better than they managed against Afghanistan. The win over Afghanistan on Sunday was not the performance of champions and yet, somehow and some way, they are still in contention for a semi-final spot and you can never write them off,” he added.

The 47-year-old also credited bowling all-rounder Imad Wasim for Pakistan’s three-wicket win over the winless Afghanistan on June 29.

“We were so lucky to escape and survive and still be floating in this World Cup, really it was thanks to Imad Wasim. Unfortunately it has always been this way for Pakistan, we don’t seem to be able to find that collective consistency,” he expressed.

“But there is no doubting the individual pure talent in our country, look at a guy like Imad who won us that game,” Waqar added.

He also suggested that the team management shouldn’t make much changes in the Pakistan playing eleven and should stick to the winning combination. Waqar also felt that despite opener Fakhar Zaman struggling with the bat, he should be given more chances.

“We appear to have found a perfect XI at last, and I hope they (team management) don’t tinker with it anymore. Fakhar Zaman has had a poor tournament but I don’t think it would be right to drop him now,” expressed the former Pakistan skipper.

“He (Fakhar) should be given every chance to come good, and at the same time, just think how much pressure that would put on the player coming into the side at such an important time,” he backed the opener adding: “Look at the other teams doing well in this World Cup and they are making very few changes.”

Placed fifth with nine points, Pakistan will not only have to register a win against Bangladesh on July 5 but at the same time, will hope that hosts England lose their last league match against New Zealand as it would boost their chance of entering the semis.

#EoinMorgan’s men come good under pressure with a fighting 31-run win to end India’s unbeaten run!

Pakistan Beat Afghanistan By 3 Wickets.

India will deliberately lose their matches against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh so that Pakistan does not make it to the semi-finals of the ongoing World Cup, former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali claimed.

Ali further made claimed that India intentionally played poorly against Afghanistan and that David Warner deliberately underperformed against India.

Ali was speaking on a TV show on Pakistan-based channel Ary News, Ali said, “India will never want that Pakistan make it to the semi-finals. They have matches remaining against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Everyone saw the fashion in which they won against Afghanistan.”

The former cricketer went on, “They’ll play in such a way that nobody will come to know what has happened. What happened in India’s match against Afghanistan? What did Australia do against India? What did David Warner do?”

Pakistan have seven points in their kitty and are locked in a four way battle for the semi-finals spot along with England, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

After the match against West Indies, India will take on England, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. They need to win atleast two matches in order to qualify for the semi-finals.

After the loss against India, Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed faced massive outrage as fans slammed the skipper for his attitude and fitness. Recently a video of a Pakistani fan calling Sarfaraz a “fat-pig” went viral. In the video, the Pakistani skipper Sarfaraz was seen was walking in a mall in England with his son on his lap when a fan paused and called him fat pig.

“This was playing on my mind, but I didn’t pay much heed as I thought he won’t do this as his family was also with him. I spoke to his family. One of his family members also apologized on his behalf. But when the video became viral my body language was demotivated. It was not because of me. It was because of my son Abdullah who was with me at that time. That’s why it hurt me even more,” he said in an official ICC interview.

Pakistan had faced a humiliating 89-run defeat against India in the ongoing World Cup and the defeat was followed by immense criticism for the whole team.

Sarfaraz also said that he found his wife crying in their hotel room which really hurt him.

“When I went back to the hotel I saw my wife was crying after watching the video. I tried to explain to her that this is just one video and that we have had people walk up to us and tell things. This is nothing serious we must be strong. All of this is a part of life, when we don’t perform well we will have to go through all this,” the Pakistan skipper added.

In the viral video, Ahmed was seen in a mall with his son when a fan body-shamed him.

“I was very angry at that moment, but if I had gotten into an argument people would not have seen the truth and I would’ve been seen in a negative light instead. That’s why I felt not reacting to the incident was the best response as I left it to God,” he said.

Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed was trolled on social media after he did not pay heed to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s advise about winning the toss and batting first in their high-voltage World Cup clash against India in Manchester on Sunday.

Taking to Twitter ahead of the match, Imran said: “Today, given the intensity of the match, both teams will come under great mental pressure and the power of the mind will decide the outcome of the match. In Sarfaraz we are fortunate to have a bold captain & today he will have to be at his daring best.

“In order to have a winning offensive strategy Sarfaraz must go in with specialist batsmen and bowlers because “Raillu Kattas” rarely perform under pressure — especially the intense kind that will be generated today. Unless pitch is damp, Sarfaraz must win the toss & bat.”

It seems the tweets didn’t reach Sarfaraz, who won the toss and promptly put India into bat under overcast conditions.

Imran, who led Pakistan to their only World Cup victory in 1992, was proved right as India piled on 336/5 riding Rohit Sharma’s 140 and captain Virat Kohli’s 77. K.L. Rahul also scored 57 as the Men in Blue took the Pakistan bowlers to the cleaners.

Fans on social media felt that Sarfaraz missed a trick by not listening to the legendary all-rounder as barring Mohammed Amir (3/47), all the bowlers toiled. In the last five overs, Pakistan managed to keep the run flow in check to a certain extent but they still have an uphill task.

India have an all-win record against Pakistan at the World Cup, winning all six matches played between 1992 and 2015.