CWC 2023: Here's how Pakistan can still qualify for semi final after shocking defeat against Afghanistan

Pakistan’s(PAK) campaign in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 has got a massive hit as they’ve lost three games on the trot against India, Australia and Afghanistan. The Babar Azam-led side are fifth on the points table with two wins from five matches having four points to their name. The journey to the semi finals for Pakistan now has several hurdles as they’ve three games remaining against big teams namely, South Africa, New Zealand and England.

Pakistan cannot afford to lose any more in the tournament and will have to win each and every game going forward.  They will also have to defeat their opponents by a big margin to improve their net run rate which is currently at -0.400. If all goes well for the 1992 champions, they could be seen finishing in the top four of the points table.

Also Check: ODI World Cup 2023 Most Runs

Pakistan started their campaign with an 81-run win against the Netherlands and further registered a record-breaking win against Sri Lanka as they chased down the highest target in the history of the ODI World Cup (345/4). Mohammad Rizwan played a magnificent innings of 131* (121) while Abdullah Shafique 113 (103) also scored a brilliant hundred.

Pakistan to next face South Africa

However, following that, their campaign went haywire as they faced a seven-wicket hammering against arch-rivals India and lost their eighth consecutive game in the ODI World Cup against them. Australia also piled on the misery on the ‘Men in Green’ with a 62-run defeat while Afghanistan rubbed salt into their wounds with a historic eight-wicket win in Chennai.

Also Check: ODI World Cup 2023 Points Table

Pakistan will next face the in-form South Africa who have been on a tremendous run in the tournament so far having won four out of their five matches. They will take some inspiration from their victories against the Proteas in the previous two editions of the cricketing extravaganza (2015 and 2019) as they lock horns with them on Friday, October 27 at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.