Pakistan clinched their first win in the ongoing T20 World Cup with a 7-wicket triumph over Canada at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York, on Tuesday. In another low-scoring chase, Pakistan managed to secure two crucial points and keep their hopes of making it into the Super 8 alive.
Bolstered by Mohammad Rizwan’s run-a-ball 53*, Pakistan chased down 107 in 17.3 overs, which helped them bag two points and improve their net run rate. The seven-wicket win has taken their NRR to 0.19, while the USA’s is at 0.63.
To qualify for the Super 8, Pakistan needs to win their final game against Ireland and hope for other favorable results. India and co-hosts USA are the most likely teams to qualify for the Super 8 from Group A. For Pakistan to advance, the USA needs to lose their remaining two games against India and Ireland. Additionally, Pakistan must defeat Ireland by a substantial margin to improve their NRR better than that of the USA.
While chasing 107, Saim Ayub fell early without making much of an impact, scoring only 6 runs off 12 balls. Skipper Babar Azam then arrived at the crease and forged a 63-run stand with Rizwan to take the game away from Canada. Babar was dismissed when Pakistan were close to victory, but Rizwan and Usman Khan provided the finishing touches to seal the 7-wicket win for the Men in Green.
Earlier in the innings, Babar won the toss and opted to field, which proved to be the perfect decision according to the surface. Canada’s attack was led by Aaron Johnson’s 44-ball 52. Luck certainly played a part in helping Aaron throughout his knock, but he made the most of the opportunity and kept the scoreboard ticking.
Canada, at one point, had the potential to surpass the 130-run mark, but Aaron lacked support from the other end. Pakistan, on the other hand, had a decent outing with the ball. Their four pacers finished with wickets in this do-or-die contest for the Babar-led team.
Brief Score: Canada 106/7 (Aaron Johnson 52; Haris Rauf 2-26, Mohammad Wasim 2-13) vs Pakistan 107/3 (Mohammad Rizwan 53*, Babar Azam 33; Dillon Heyliger 2-18).
