Pakistan has played four matches in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 with one win, two losses and one being washed out. The team has three points from these matches and currently sit in the eighth spot. With five matches remaining, Pakistan can still make it to the final four if the team performs up to its capabilities.
Pakistan play arch-rivals India next at Old Trafford in Manchester on June 16 (Sunday). Cricket analysts are calling this a must-win match, but history is not on Pakistan’s side as the green shirts have not won a single contest against India in the World Cup. While history may not be on Pakistan’s side, the last time these two teams met on English soil, the Green Shirts went home with the ICC Champions Trophy. The star of that match was Mohammad Amir, and luckily for Pakistan, the left-arm fast bowler has found his form in the World Cup. Amir has looked brilliant and is the top wicket-taker of the tournament. He had the Australian batsmen dancing during his last outing with a combination of pace and swing on way to picking up a career best 5/30. If Pakistan has any chance against India, he will need to be at his best. A win against India would mean the team gets a major boost in confidence which it can ride out for the remainder of the tournament.
Up next for Pakistan are the out of form South Africans. The Proteas look like the worst team in the tournament with losses against England, Bangladesh and India. The team’s star paceman Dale Steyn who has troubled the Pakistani batsmen in the past was ruled out of the tournament due to an injury. Pakistan will enter this match as favourites and the team needs to remain focused and ensure they come out with a win.
On June 26, Pakistan will play New Zealand, a team which has looked dominant. The Kiwis are on top of the points table and have shown brilliance in all aspects of the game. This match and the one against India will be ones in which Pakistan won’t be favourites, but as the Green Shirts showed against England, they are capable of beating any team on any given day. The Pakistani batsmen will need to shine in this match if the team has any chance of picking up a win.
When the schedule first came out, everyone expected Pakistan to easily win their last two matches against Afghanistan and Bangladesh. However, these two teams have proven that they are far from being pushovers. Up first will be Afghanistan who while winless have been decent in the tournament. Let’s not forget that the Afghans also handed Pakistan a loss in their warm-up match and are confident that they can repeat in the main show. Pakistan should not underestimate them and give their best in this match.
The last match for the team will be against Bangladesh who has already shown that they are no longer underdogs. Bangladesh beat South Africa in their opening match and gave New Zealand a tough time. Like Pakistan, Bangladesh may well be in the hunt for a final four spot when this match rolls around. Pakistan has too much firepower to be upset, but the team will be up against a Bangladesh squad giving its all.
