Eid publishing schedules have meant that this piece is being written before Pakistan’s clash against England. Given Pakistan’s 4-0 defeat against the same opponents last month, and given England’s billing as the favourites for the tournament at home, it is likely that Pakistan could be 0-2 heading into today’s (Friday) clash against Sri Lanka. If they have beaten England by the time you read this, it would only fan the optimism that will follow.
Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup triumph habitually becomes the reference point for the national side at all major events. And, of course, given that the World Cup winning captain is now the prime minister of the country, the obsession with ‘this also happened in 1992’ quite frequently reaches satirical proportions.
And so while the national side was deservedly bashed after their abysmal performance in the opening match demolition at the hands of the West Indies, the hopeless romantic was quick to point out that Pakistan also began the 1992 campaign in a similarly wretch manner. In fact, Pakistan’s 105 against West Indies, is now sandwiched between the two first World Cup scores for the national side, both of which were conjured at the 1992 edition – the worst being 74 against England.
Andre Russel blew away the top order
Of course, the similarities don’t, and won’t, end there. 1992 was the only edition before the 2019 World Cup to have the round robin format, making Pakistan the only side to have won the biggest prize in limited-overs cricket in its current shape. And indeed, Pakistan also won the second-biggest prize in ODIs, the 2017 Champions Trophy, after having been thrashed in their opening round against India.
Beating England would have brought much confidence into the side, and indeed failure to do so would just have piled on the misery for the national side, with bullets firing from back home. And yet, even if Pakistan are 0-2 heading into today’s clash against Sri Lanka, all is not lost.
Babar Azam
Yes, this space had earlier billed the West Indies contest as a much win for Pakistan. And yes, it won’t be easy for Pakistan to find a way into the top four. However, there are still seven matches to go in the group stage, and a lot of cricket to be played.
Today’s opponents Sri Lanka were bundled out for 136 against Sri Lanka a day after Pakistan had been skittled for 105. Heading into the Pakistan clash they would’ve already played against Afghanistan, which would be a match that would’ve done little to tell us about either side’s prospects of making the top four.
What simply cannot be emphasized enough is that today’s match against Sri Lanka is an absolute must-win for Pakistan, even if they have somehow managed to beat England on Monday. If Pakistan are 0-2, they need six wins out of seven in all likelihood to keep their qualification chances within their own hands.
Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq
Losing today would mean Pakistan needing to win all their remaining matches, which would include beating Australia, India, South Africa and New Zealand. Pakistan face those four sides, in that order, in the next four contests after Sri Lanka.
Indeed, if there’s any side that can come back from 0-3 to qualify for the semis and win the World Cup, it would be Pakistan. But the side cannot afford to go down that route, hoping for a “Pakistan special” every time.
Sarfaraz Ahmed
Defeat against Sri Lanka would leave Pakistan needing a Pakistan-esque miracle to reach the semis
Ideally, as discussed in this space, Pakistan needed wins over all of the sides ranked below them – Bangladesh, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. But after the defeat against West Indies, they need wins against the remaining three and three more wins against the top five sides.
To put it simply, defeat against Sri Lanka would leave Pakistan needing a Pakistan-esque miracle to reach the semis – which the side pulled off the last time the World Cup was played in the round robin format, and the last time a major ODI event was held in England.
