Can Pakistan Still Qualify for Semi-Final? What are PAK's Semis Chances After Defeating South Africa in T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12 Cricket Match?

Pakistan were down and out after the first two games in their T20 World Cup 2022 campaign. A narrow loss to India and then an even shocking defeat to Zimbabwe signalled the early end of a campaign where many had touted them to be one of the title favourites. But Babar Azam and his men have bounced back in spectacular fashion as now, they have been able to win two games on the bounce and still keep themselves in the hunt for a spot in the semi-finals. ICC T20 World Cup 2022 Points Table Super 12 Updated Live

The Green Shirts had a shaky start to the match against South Africa after batting first as they lost their top order pretty quickly, without much on the board. Their middle-order, which has been at the receiving end of a barrage of criticism, came good in the game with the likes of Iftikhar Ahmed and Shadab Khan taking the side to a strong total. Shadab Khan was not done yet as he returned with the ball to dismiss two key South African wickets of skipper Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram. The match was shortened due to rain and Pakistan prevailed on top with a 33-run win.

So, How can Pakistan qualify for the T20 World Cup 2022 Semifinals?

With this win over South Africa, Pakistan now have four points and are third in the Group 2 standings. India, the table-toppers have six points while South Africa, sandwiched between the two Asian rivals, have the same points as Pakistan (4). With all these sides having one game remaining each, the semifinal qualification scenario for Pakistan is as follows.

For Pakistan to qualify for the semifinals, they would need to beat Bangladesh in their final group-stage match. A win over Bangladesh would help them get to six points and since they have a better net run rate, they might as well top the group, ahead of India’s last match with Zimbabwe. However, a win against Bangladesh would not be enough. Pakistan also need either one of South Africa or India to lose their final group match, against Netherlands and Zimbabwe respectively, to ensure a spot in the semifinals. Should the South Africa vs Netherlands is washed out, Pakistan would then need to beat Bangladesh to go through and net run rate wouldn't come into account as they would then qualify on the basis of winning more matches.

Given South Africa’s form, they are most likely to beat the Netherlands in their final group match and all eyeballs would turn towards the India vs Zimbabwe match, where the Men in Blue would need to win to book a last-four spot and keep Pakistan out of the equation. Should both India and South Africa win their final matches, Pakistan would be knocked out as they would have fewer points. They would be in contention if any of these two teams lose their last group-stage encounters.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 03, 2022 06:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).