A win in the last two league games of the ICCT20 World Cup 2024 will not be enough for the Pakistan cricket team to secure a place in the Super 8. After a crushing defeat in the first two matches, it has become extremely difficult for the team to qualify for the Super 8 stage. The team’s position in the tournament is currently swinging in the balance.
The Pakistan cricket team has made it to the semi-finals of at least six of the 8 T20 World Cup editions, including the championship title in 2009. After that, in 2010 and 2012, they were out of the semi-finals for two consecutive times, and then in 2022, they reached the final for the second time after 2007.
The national team started the ongoing World Cup 2024 in America and West Indies with a loss. After losing two matches in a row, the team’s path to the Super 8 stage has become very difficult. However, the national team’s journey to the World Cup looks to be very short after losing first to the USA and then to India under Babar Azam’s leadership.
In their opening match in Dallas on Friday, Pakistan suffered a Super Over defeat by World Cup debutants and co-hosts USA. After the loss, the national team’s bowlers staged a strong comeback in New York yesterday and restricted India to just 119 runs, their lowest T20 World Cup score so far. But the batters showed incompetence in chasing the target, which resulted in the team’s humiliating defeat by six runs.
India won their opening game against Ireland, and the USA beat Canada. Both teams beat Pakistan to top the points table. Meanwhile, after the defeat in the first two matches, the Pakistan team’s hopes of making a place in the Super 8 have also died. They have also fallen behind Canada in the points table, having yet to open a winless account in the tournament, as Canada beat Ireland with a one-game victory.
Looking at the points table in Group A of the T20 World Cup, Pakistan can get as many as 4 points by winning their remaining matches, but more is needed to ensure their place in the Super Eight.
Pakistan have two more matches left in the group stage: against Canada in New York on Tuesday and Ireland in Lauderhill on June 16. Pakistan will have to win both their matches by a good margin. India is a strong team, so they cannot be expected to lose their matches in the next few days. However, the USA may face defeat in the next two matches.
The USA will have one match against India and another against Ireland. If Ireland beat the USA, Pakistan could qualify for the Super Eight stage based on its run rate. The Irish team has yet to have an excellent start to the tournament after losing to Canada and India, but whether they can beat the USA remains to be seen.
Pakistan’s run rate is much better now because they lost the match against America in the Super Over, while India was also defeated by only 6 runs. After that, the national team’s run rate remained at 0.150 because America lost both matches. It could be beneficial if Pakistan wins the next two games.