New Zealand played with Sri Lanka in the most consequential match of the World Cup and won easily, and then it seemed as though the hopes that had pinned on Pakistan had fallen through.
Pakistani’s best chance of making it to semi-finals for them were through Sri Lanka beating New Zealand, which Pakistani fans desired however did not come true.
India, South Africa and Australia have progressed to the knock-out phase while New Zealand, Pakistan and Afghanistan are still fighting for their place in the last team.
Nevertheless, following on from New Zealand’s massive win over Sri Lanka, it now appears almost impossible that Pakistan or Afghanistan could make the semi-final stage, whilst the route for the Kiwis is far more straightforward.
To be able to advance into semi finals, Pakistan and Afghanistan would have needed to score points in their last matches but today run rates have caused these two teams a lot of trouble.
New Zealand have claimed three victories on the trot including a vital win at the death in the last group match, and now stand fourth on the table having collected ten points.
These are five- Afghanistan with six nubmber on point table – with eight points. Tomorrow, Afghanistan meets with South Africa; and Saturday, England plays with Pakistan.
New Zealand have all but sealed a semi-final spot, with Pakistan and Afghanistan needing a miracle to overhaul their net run rate 🇳🇿 #CWC23 pic.twitter.com/5rIqvmE7Wt
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) November 9, 2023
Nevertheless, because of the small run rate, they will most probably not to make it into the knock out stage even after beating the Afghans and Pakistani side in their last meeting.
How many runs will Pakistan need to beat England reach the semi-finals?
The Pakistan team must win against England a minimum of 287 runs to get into the semifinal.
The Pakistani team should score at least 300 runs if they bat first against England, according to Cricinfo (if). Therefore, the English side is expected to be bowled out for not more than 13 runs.
Therefore in case England bats first, they should not score more than 50 runs as it would certainly be difficult for Pakistan to complete the same target within just 2.5 over.
However, Afghanistan must defeat South Africa by 438 runs in order to qualify for the semifinals which seems impossible.
