South Africa have done Babar Azam’s Pakistan a huge favour by beating New Zealand by a massive margin of 90 runs in Pune on November 1. While there are several permutations and combinations involved for Pakistan to qualify for the World Cup 2023 semi-finals, their task at hand is to beat New Zealand in a way that their net run rate (NRR) receives a major boost.
How the current NRR stands
After the loss to South Africa, New Zealand slipped to the fourth spot on the points table with four wins from seven games at NRR of +0.484. On the other hand, Pakistan have three wins from the same number of games and an NRR of -0.024. The seven-wicket against Bangladesh with plenty of overs to spare did them a huge favour in the NRR department.
Pakistan vs New Zealand, a virtual pre-quarterfinal?
In the coming days, while Afghanistan have a chance to beat the Netherlands and leave Pakistan behind on the points table, their NRR is unlikely to get better than New Zealand. On the other hand, when Pakistan take on an injury-affected New Zealand at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, they will have a clear equation in mind.
If Pakistan are to leave New Zealand behind on the basis of NRR after eight games, they need to win by 83 or more runs if they bat first. If New Zealand set a target for Pakistan on November 4, they will need to chase it down within 35 overs.
The do-or-die final game
If they manage to beat New Zealand, their next match against defending champions England at Eden Gardens, Kolkata becomes crucial. They will have to win by a good margin to give a further boost to their NRR. Also, at that time, they will have a clear picture in mind. Before Pakistan go up against Jos Buttler's England, New Zealand will lock horns with Sri Lanka in Bengaluru.
Unpredictable Afghanistan
However, if Sri Lanka beat New Zealand, it will pave the way for Pakistan. Meanwhile, Afghanistan will face the Netherlands followed by Australia and South Africa. While they are not expected to win all three matches, they have stunned World Champions in their first three wins of the tournament.
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