Sarfaraz Ahmed and his men will now not only have to win the remaining three matches, starting with New Zealand, but also hope that the results in other matches favour them to salvage any hopes of a semifinal berth.
Sarfaraz Ahmed and Imad Wasim
Pakistan faced severe criticism after their loss to arch-rivals India but their 49-run win over South Africa breathed life into their campaign but the road ahead is a tough one.
ADVERTISEMENT
With just two wins and three losses, Pakistan are at the seventh spot with five points in six games.
Sarfaraz Ahmed and his men will now not only have to win the remaining three matches, starting with New Zealand, but also hope that the results in other matches favour them to salvage any hopes of a semifinal berth.
New Zealand's Mitchell Santner in a pre-match presser has said that Pakistan is a very dangerous team when they are in form.
Mitchell Santner "When Pakistan are hot, they're really hot" #CWC19 #PakvNZ pic.twitter.com/hB1tTV684w
— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) June 25, 2019
While pacer Mohammad Amir has been their biggest star, claiming 15 wickets to top the list, none of the other bowlers have backed him, which has affected their campaign.
While the batting and bowling units delivered against the Proteas, fielding is an area of concern for Pakistan and Sarfaraz too admitted that the team will need to pull up its socks.
"We have to work harder on fielding. Again we dropped so many catches (against South Africa), some straightforward and some half-chances. All three matches now are very crucial and we have to sort it out," Sarfaraz had said after the match.
New Zealand, on the other hand, have been invincible so far and currently hold the top position in the points table.
The Black Caps, led by inspiration skipper Kane Williamson, have been on a roll ever since they streamrolled Sri Lanka in their opening match.
There is quite a lot of buzz regarding the match on Twitter, we take a look at few interesting tweets:
Persistent mild drizzle at Edgbaston, like being in a sauna#PAKvNZ #NZvPAK #CWC19
— u00f0u009fu008cu00b1 Jane u00e2u009cu008cu00efu00b8u008f u00f0u009fu0087u00acu00f0u009fu0087u00a7 #LookB4WeLeave u00f0u009fu0087u00aau00f0u009fu0087u00ba (@localnotail) June 26, 2019
Today it will be a big match between @Pakistan and @Newzealand. Another win is needed to make a place in the semi-final#PAKvNZ #Blood Green #Pakistan Zindabad@SarfarazA_54 @MHafeez22 @WahabViki @babarazam258 @iamamirofficial @simadwasim @76Shadabkhan
— Syed Sikandar Shah (@siki_shah8) June 26, 2019
Actually great contest would be between
— PTI Family (@saahirali) June 26, 2019
Boult vs Fakhar
Ferguson vs Babar
Amir vs Guptil
Shadab vs Munro
Wahab vs Williamson#PAKvNZ#CWC19
Iss gussy ko thanda na hony dy#PAKvNZ#WeHaveWeWill pic.twitter.com/aomf1uA5fN
— S H A H Z A Du00f0u009fu0092u00abu00f0u009fu0094u00a5 (@Pracha_Says) June 26, 2019
Are you ready#PAKvNZ@iamamirofficial pic.twitter.com/RjfetcuaCi
— SubhanAyyaz (@SubhanAyyaz1) June 26, 2019
Tough game for both.
— Jpmittal (@chalte_jana_he) June 26, 2019
Spotlight, though,will remain on Sarfaraz & his boys. A blink here, a YAWN there will almost certainly send them on their way back to Lahore and Karachi, where interrogations quickly turn into inquisitions.
So @SarfarazA_54 keep mouth shut today u00f0u009fu0098u009c#PAKvNZ pic.twitter.com/ZM1gLQUOhp
I hope they both are playing well against NZ and take Pakistan one step nearer to the semi final of the Word Cup#PakvNz #WCC2019 pic.twitter.com/LaX0m0AGCU
— tefikhan (@tefikhan1) June 26, 2019
With inputs from PTI
Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
