ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: Pakistan officially knocked out of semi-final race after England win toss and opt to bat first

England have won the toss and elected to bat first against Pakistan.

Pakistan’s dream to qualify for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 are shattered. Pakistan’s chances would have been better if they got the opportunity to bat first against England at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. But English skipper Jos Buttler won the toss and elected to bat in the game, officially knocking Pakistan out of the championship. Pakistan will end up as the No. 5 team in the points table, irrespective of the result against England in Kolkata.

In Pakistan’s absence, New Zealand qualified for the semi-finals with five wins and have 10 points after nine league matches. New Zealand benefited from a good net run rate, as they didn’t suffer any big losses apart from South Africa. New Zealand won their games by a big margin, which made them stand one step above Pakistan and Afghanistan in the points table despite being at the same number of points in the World Cup 2023 tally.

Pakistan’s scenario, now out of the equation

Now that England are batting first, Pakistan will need to chase England’s given total in just 6.1 overs. This may be impossible to achieve practically in any game of cricket. Even if Pakistan gets England bowled out inside 50–60 runs, they will need to chase it down in just 2.1 overs. This scenario also looks impossible in any format of the game. Pakistan’s campaign got derailed when they lost four consecutive games in the mid-tournament.

Pakistan’s chances would have been considerable if they would have batted first, as they needed to win against England by a huge margin of 287 runs. England are also playing to confirm their ICC Champions Trophy qualification in 2025. England have been dismal in their campaign, and a win will secure their participation and avoid a major embarrassment in their history. England have won only two games in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023.

Now the four semi-finalists have been confirmed for the tournament. India, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand have qualified for the semi-finals. India will play against New Zealand at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on November 15th in the semi-finals 1, and Australia will be taking on South Africa at Eden Gardens in Kolkata in the semi-finals 2 games. The World Cup 2023 finals will be played at Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19.

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