Babar Azam and his Pakistani side face an uphill task if they want to qualify for the ODI World Cup 2023 semi-finals. Their final game is against outgoing World Cup winner England in Kolkata on Saturday.
Pakistan has to beat the English team by a huge margin and their only hope is if they bat first. The Pakistan will then have to beat England by over 275 runs to better their run rate compared to New Zealand.
The Sri Lanka versus New Zealand game produced a disappointing result for the Pakistani team and its fans. New Zealand chased down the total set by Sri Lanka inside the 25th over to better their net run rate.
Babar Azam pins his hope on Fakhar Zaman
Pakistani skipper Babar Azam was speaking to the media ahead of the game against England on Saturday in Kolkata. The 29-year-old batter hoped that Fakhar Zaman could reproduce the magical innings just like he played against New Zealand last weekend.
Babar Azam said, “If Fakhar Zaman stays till 20-30 overs, we can achieve big scores tomorrow”. The Pakistani opener scored a century of just 63 balls to score the fastest century in ODI World Cup history for his national side.
In the game against New Zealand in Bengaluru, Pakistan was chasing 402 to win before the rains came down. The Pakistanis won the game by 21 runs thanks to the Duckworth and Lewis Method.
Addressing the media, Babar Azam also said “The role of Iftikhar Ahmed and Mohammed Rizwan will also be important during the match”. The two cricketers are known to be big hitters and have been a vital cog in the wheel for the Pakistani team.
Mohammed Rizwan in particular played a key role in the huge chase versus Sri Lanka in Hyderabad scoring 131 not out. The wicketkeeper and batter also scored a crucial 49 against India before falling to Jasprit Bumrah.
Allaying fears over his captaincy debate, Babar Azam said “There is no pressure on me, I was performing and leading the side for the past three years as well. It is easy to say things while sitting on TV. People who want to advise me can contact me on my number. Right now my focus is on the next match. I will think about the future of captaincy later”
Here’s how the fans reacted –
Babar Azam said, "if Fakhar Zaman stays till 20-30 overs, we can achieve big scores tomorrow". pic.twitter.com/ZFmJrRIiTx
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) November 10, 2023
Babar Azam said, "you never know what'll happen next, we've a match left". pic.twitter.com/2z9aIsmH9I
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) November 10, 2023
Ye andar ke biryani ki awaz hai..!!
— Lalit Jha (@financesperm) November 10, 2023
Itna confidence chayie life me
— GEMS OFF INTERNET (@gemsoffinternet) November 10, 2023
Only way possible is that New Zealand never reaches the venue, even then India will advance to Final ?
— Zaffar ?? (@Zaffar_Nama) November 10, 2023
Fakhar zaman should stay till 50th over and Pakistan should score 500 runs and England should chase 501 in 49th over ??
— Sunny ? (@being_sunny1) November 10, 2023
Without Fakhar Zaman they can’t even score 6 an over.
— Ansh Shah (@asmemesss) November 10, 2023
Bobzi the Kimg is shifting all pressure on Fakhar so that he can statpad ?
— Shubman Gang (@ShubmanGang) November 10, 2023
You can dream whatever you want but we know the results. One short ball from Mark Wood is enough for Fakar
— Indian Stats & Index (@statsfeed_india) November 10, 2023
