Pakistan must give it a shot before bowing out

LONDON: It’s easier for an elephant to pass through the eye of a needle than for Pakistan to qualify for World Cup semi-finals.

So would they even bother to try?

Why not?

The history of sports is full of miracles. Pakistan will perhaps need one of the biggest to squeeze into the last four.

The first thing they will need is for Sarfraz Ahmed to win the toss. That’s because if Bangladesh win it and decide to bat first, Pakistan would be out of contention for a place in the semi-finals before even a single ball is bowled.

If they do bat first, Pakistan will need to post the biggest innings total in ODI history and then somehow bowl out an impressive Bangladesh batting line-up cheaply. The whopping victory margin Pakistan will need can be gauged from the fact that if they score 400 runs then they will need to bowl out Bangladesh for a mere 84 to win by 316 runs. That’s the only way Pakistan can surpass New Zealand on a superior net run-rate.

Such a mismatch has never taken place in ODI history let alone in a World Cup match. It is unlikely to happen here on Friday at Lord’s either but Pakistan should give it a shot.

They should bring in Asif Ali to open the innings with Fakhar Zaman. There is little chance that the misfiring duo, who were picked in Pakistan’s World Cup squad for their six-hitting ability, would do the job for Pakistan but what’s the harm in trying.

However, there is a bigger likelihood that Pakistan would just try to win on Friday in a bid to end their disappointing World Cup campaign on a winning note. They have seldom shown any worthwhile boldness during their see-saw World Cup campaign.

After a stunning loss in their opening World Cup game against West Indies which dealt a lethal blow to their net run-rate, Pakistan never really bothered to improve it. And they would be paying the price for it by bowing out of the competition just because New Zealand have a better net run-rate.

The reason why Pakistan were unable to work on their run-rate wasn’t a lack of intent. It was simply a lack of depth in their batting. They were never comfortable chasing not even when they were seeking relatively smaller targets against New Zealand and Afghanistan.

And now they need their batters to perform a miracle of biblical proportions. The realistic thing for Pakistan to do, as their captain Sarfraz Ahmed pointed out on Thursday, would be to win their last group game and end the tournament on a winning note. A victory on Friday would mean that Pakistan would have bowed out of the World Cup with four wins on the trot. They would finish as the team finishing fifth with just a difference in net run-rate keeping them out of the last four.

It would hardly be any consolation for their fans but much better than ending the World Cup with a loss against Bangladesh. But even that is not going to be an easy target.

Bangladesh might have crashed out of the World Cup but they have had an excellent run in the tournament. Thanks to the likes of all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan – the second highest run-getter in the event – Bangladesh defeated a few top teams and gave a scare to others.

Shakib would be the biggest threat for Pakistan. The only all-rounder to get over 1000 runs and over 30 wickets in World Cups, Shakib has piled up 542 runs at 90.33 in this tournament. Pacer Mustafizur Rahman is another stand out player in the Bangladesh line-up having taken 15 wickets in the World Cup including a five-wicket haul against India in Birmingham earlier this week.

In Pakistan’s corner are the duo of Babar Azam and Mohammad Amir. Their star performers in the World Cup, Babar and Amir will need to shine on Friday. But others will have to chip in as well especially the likes of Mohammad Hafeez. The veteran all-rounder has been unable to click since his match-winning 84 against England. He has mostly fallen to a series of soft-dismissals mostly at the hands of part-timers. Pakistan will need him to do much better.

Pakistan are likely to persist with pacer Wahab Riaz despite the fact that the left-armer is suffering from a fractured right hand. This means that teenage pacer Mohammad Hasnain might go home without playing a single World Cup match.

Bangladesh, meanwhile, were sweating on the fitness of key player Mushfiqur Rahim, who suffered an elbow injury during a training session on Thursday. However, coach Steve Rhodes believes he would be fit enough to play on Friday.

Fit-again Mahmudullah, who was out of action because of a calf injury, is expected to return along with Rubel Hossain as Bangladesh will go all out to finish their World Cup campaign on a high.

Friday’s wicket at Lord’s is the same one on which Pakistan defeated South Africa almost ten days back. There was a tinge of grass on the track, something Amir would have liked. But on a warm, sunny day, spinners are likely to play a role especially in the second half of the match.

Teams (likely):

Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Haris Sohail, Sarfaraz Ahmed (capt & wk), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Liton Das, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Mustafizur Rahman.

Today’s Fixture

Pakistan vs Bangladesh starts 2:30 pm PST at Lord’s Cricket Ground