It’s a crucial match for Pakistan today as they face South Africa in a must-win situation at the Cricket World Cup 2023 in Chennai. This is the same venue where they suffered their third consecutive loss against Afghanistan, which has significantly impacted their World Cup campaign and damaged their confidence. Now, it’s time for Pakistan to regain their pride and get their campaign back on track. However, it won’t be an easy task.
Pakistan has four games remaining in the first stage of the tournament, and all four will pose a huge challenge. They will be playing against South Africa, Bangladesh, New Zealand, and England in that order. All these teams have the potential to defeat Pakistan. In the World Cup, there are no easy matches. Although matches against lower-ranked nations like Netherlands, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan are comparatively easier to win, Pakistan has missed out on winning all three of these matches, which has hurt their chances.
If South Africa defeats Pakistan today, it will further diminish Pakistan’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals. The current points table shows that the only available spot for the semi-finals is the fourth position, currently held by Australia with 6 points. Australia also has four matches remaining in the competition. India has 10 points, while South Africa and New Zealand have 8 points each.
If Pakistan loses to South Africa, they will hope that Australia loses to New Zealand in Dharamsala and hopefully loses at least two out of their next three matches. Additionally, Pakistan will have to make sure to win their remaining three games after the South Africa clash with a better Net Run Rate (NRR). It’s also important to consider how Sri Lanka and Afghanistan perform in their next two matches, as it will have an impact on Pakistan’s chances.
Currently, the race for the last semi-final spot is tight, considering that India, South Africa, and New Zealand are likely to stay ahead with a minimum of 8 points after five matches. Even if these three teams lose two matches, they can make up for the losses and reach 12 points.
Shadab Khan, the Pakistan vice-captain, expressed in a pre-match press conference that they are aiming for a four-match winning streak. This is exactly what Pakistan should strive for – victories in all their remaining matches. This gives Pakistan the best chance to secure a spot in the semi-finals.
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