Pakistan knocked out of T20 World Cup, New Zealand progress to the semi-final

Pakistan’s T20 World Cup campaign has come to an end as they failed to achieve the required Net Run Rate (NRR) in their final Super Eights game. 

Pakistan fail to get NRR boost

Posting a 212-run target against Sri Lanka in Kandy, they needed to win the game by 65 runs, which meant bowling out the hosts for 147.

Pakistan kept things tight early on, with Naseem Shah striking in his first over to remove the dangerous Pathum Nissanka. After that, they regularly made inroads. However, Pavan Rathnayake and Dasun Shanaka proved too good to be halted. 

The pair stitched a 32-ball 61-run partnership, knocking Pakistan out of the tournament.

Abrar Ahmed was the only Pakistan bowler to consistently pose a threat to the opposition, with all other bowlers getting hit for big runs. Earlier, Pakistan’s opener Sahibzada Farhan scored a century in a 176-run opening stand with Fakhar Zaman. But, as it turned out, all these performances ended in vain. Pakistan finish the tournament with three points and an NRR of -0.123, having won the game by 5 runs against Sri Lanka. 

Semi-finals and final to be played in India

With a superior NRR, New Zealand, who have three points, will advance to the next stage.

This means both semi-finals will be played in India, with the first semi-final set for March 4 between South Africa and New Zealand. The second semi-final will be staged in Mumbai, where England will face either West Indies or India, depending on who qualifies tomorrow.

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