Pakistan was moved to second place in Group 2 as New Zealand defeated Afghanistan by 8 wickets in Abu Dhabi. However, Babar Azam’s side regained the top place after defeating Scotland by 72 runs on Sunday at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Pakistan will now meet Australia in the semi-finals. Scotland finished their campaign with 5 consecutive defeats.
Pakistan Enters Semi-finals
Pakistan batted first and amassed a dangerous total of 189 for four on the board. The Men in Green were a little cautious in the powerplay, scoring 35 runs and losing Mohammad Rizwan’s wicket to Hamza Tahir. Pakistan were in a bind when Fakhar Zaman became Chris Greaves’ 1st victim. They only managed to score 60 runs in the first ten overs.
From then, Babar Azam and company accelerated, scoring 129 runs in their final ten overs. The captain returned to the party once more, smashing 66 off 47 balls with 5 fours and 3 sixes. Mohammad Hafeez also contributed a good 19-ball 31. However, it was Shoaib Malik’s unbroken 18-ball 54, packed including one four and 6 sixes, that gave the innings momentum.
Scotland struggled in the powerplay, scoring only 24 runs and losing the wicket of their captain, Kyle Coetzer. Matthew Cross, one of their consistent run-scorers, was run out at the non-end strikers by Imad Wasim. Dylan Budge took the position of Calum Macleod, although he was unable to open his account. George Munsey lasted until the 11th over, unable to establish any sort of rhythm.
Before Shadab Khan stopped his terrible spell, the lefty dragged and pushed his way to a 31-ball 17. Richie Berrington had 3 ducks in the World Cup, but he recovered with a 34-ball half-century. With 4 fours and one six, the right-hander remained not out on 54 off 37 pitches. Shadab Khan was the best bowler for Pakistan, finishing with 4-0-14-2 statistics.
Also read: ‘Clear Intention’, Babar Aims A Winning Streak
