(Image source: X.com)
[Saba Sports News] Pakistan finally ended their four-match losing streak in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. The Babar Azam-led side handed Bangladesh a seven-wicket defeat on Tuesday in the 31st match of the ongoing World Cup at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens. Pakistan not only won the match in a one-sided manner but also knocked Bangladesh out of the tournament.
Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman, along with Abdullah Shafique, guided Pakistan to a flying start while chasing 205 runs, scoring 81 off 74 and 68 off 69 respectively. Notably, Fakhar replaced out-of-form Imam-ul-Haq in the playing XI and played exceptionally well on his comeback. However, he, while playing aggressively, threw away his wicket to Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Shafique was trapped LBW by Mehidy, who also dismissed Babar Azam. Finally, Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed finished things off in just 32.3 overs.
Fakhar smashed three fours and seven maximums against Bangladesh. Due to his powerful knock, Pakistan, currently sit at fifth position on the points table and also improved their Net Run Rate.
In the post-match presentation, Fakhar mentioned that they were looking to chase down the target in 28-29 overs to improve their NRR. In the process, while playing aggressively, he did not care about reaching a century.
“Because of the situation that we are in at the moment, we were looking to chase the target down in 28–29 overs, so I went hard. Otherwise, it was very easy for me to get to the 100, but our goal was to chase it down quickly,” Zaman said in a post-match press conference.
The southpaw further acknowledged that Pakistan were desperate for this win as they are still looking forward to securing a spot in the semi-finals. Fakhar also mentioned that the loss against India in the World Cup made a difference but also praised his team’s performance against South Africa, in which the Men in Green lost by the barest of margins.
“We were anxiously waiting for this win; every win in the World Cup boosts confidence, and our aim is to win the remaining two matches. Our target is semi-final. That loss to India made the difference; every match against India does, but we fought well in the South Africa match, and that fight gave us much-needed rhythm,” he added.
Regarding Pakistan’s chances of qualifying for the semis, they still look bleak as they now have to win their remaining two matches against New Zealand and England and also hope for a few other results to go their way.