ODI World Cup 2023: Sarfaraz Ahmed's old remark goes viral after Pakistan get virtually knocked out of semi-final race

Pakistan is teetering on the edge of elimination from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, facing incredibly slim odds of qualification. Recent developments have brought former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed's past statement on a similar situation back into the spotlight, making it go viral.

On the eve of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup final group match against Bangladesh, Pakistan's skipper at that time, Ahmed, found himself in a real struggle. The situation was dire as Pakistan needed to not just win, but win by an astronomical margin to have any hope of making it to the semi-finals. It was like chasing an impossible target.

If Pakistan batted first, it was a herculean task. They had to beat Bangladesh by a massive margin of 300 runs just to stay in contention for the semi-final race. But if Pakistan batted second, there was no chance at all.

A total of 400 runs would have meant Pakistan needed to dismiss Bangladesh for a mere 84, winning by a staggering 316 runs to edge past New Zealand. Sarfaraz's expression reflected the bewildering puzzle before Pakistan. It was a cricketing conundrum that left them scratching their heads, trying to figure out how they could achieve the impossible."Yeah, it is very difficult. 316 runs is a big margin. Only if you're batting first if you score 600 runs or 500 runs. So I don't know what the study is behind this, but I can't do anything," said Sarfaraz back then.

Sarfaraz's comments have once again hogged the limelight during the ongoing World Cup 2023 as Pakistan again need to overcome England challenge keeping in mind different scenarios to make it to the semi-final.