England cricket team entered the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup semi-finals after beating Pakistan national cricket team, led by Harry Brook’s century. Pakistan must win their last match and rely on other results to qualify.
Agha Salman-led Pakistan were crushed by Harry Brook’s magical batting display in the PAK vs ENG T20 World Cup Super-8 contest as England captain scored a memorable century and laid a solid foundation for England’s victory while chasing Pakistan’s target of 166 runs. England became the first team to reach the semis from the Super 8 Group number-2 of the Twenty20 World Cup by reigning supreme over the Shaheens and co-hosts Sri Lanka. Now the math of Group 2 has become very interesting and Pakistan’s path has become tough.
Pakistan reached 164 for 9 on the strength of Sahibzada Farhan’s inning of 61 runs while Babar Azam (25), Fakhar Zaman (Twenty-Five) and Shadab Khan (23 runs) also made noteworthy batting contributions. For England, Liam Dawson took 3 wickets, while Jofra Archer and Jamie Overton took two wickets each. Shaheen Shah Afridi shook up England’s top order. He took three wickets to reduce England to 35 for 3.
But, captain Harry Brook came in to bat at number three and overwhelmed the Pakistani bowlers. He scored 100 runs off 47 balls with 9 fours and 5 sixes. Hard-Hitting batsman Will Jacks also contributed 28 runs off 20 balls and Sam Curran contributed 15 runs to England’s victory. England reached the semi-finals with four points in Group 2.
Pakistan semifinal qualification scenario
Pakistan lost to England in the Super 8s and their bid to reach the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup is almost over, but they can still make it to the semi-finals thanks to a favour. They are second with 1 point from two matches and a net run rate of -0.461. They can reach a maximum of 3 points with a win against Sri Lanka.
If New Zealand win their remaining two matches, Pakistan will be eliminated, regardless of the outcome of the match against Sri Lanka.
If New Zealand lose both their matches, the winner of the match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka on Saturday (February 28) will qualify for the last four. If they lose to New Zealand tomorrow (February 25), co-hosts Sri Lanka will be eliminated.
If New Zealand win one of their two matches and Pakistan beat the 2014 champions, the team with the better net run rate (NRR) will qualify.
