PAK vs NZ

Key Features –

1. Yet again, it was a show of the All Rounders after a week full of breathtaking performances by All Rounders ranging from Shakib, Brathwaite, Stokes (twice) and Nabi. This time joining the list were Jimmy Neesham and Colin De Grandhomme who built a partnership of 132 runs for the 6th wicket after losing the top 5 pretty within 83 runs. Their individual scores were 97(112)* and 64(71) respectively.

2. Shaheen Afridi was unplayable today with his inswinging deliveries to the top order in the powerplay overs picking up Munro, Ross and Latham for cheap scores. His spell was 10-3-28-3.

3. Babar Azam, yet again with his consistency in ODIs, scored a match-winning 101(127)*. Haris Sohail gave him amazing support and scored his second consecutive half century in this tournament that too in both the must-win encounters. They built a match-winning partnership of 125 runs. His individual score was 68(76).

4. Mohammad Hafeez’s last three dismisals were against Aaron Finch, Aiden Markram and Kane Williamson (today). Seems like an experienced doesn’t really like batting against part-time bowlers😜.

Post-Match Analysis –
1. It was a must-win for Pakistan and all of a sudden just one spot has been booked in the playoffs (by Australia) amd and all the other three spots are open for New Zealand, India, England, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, with NZ and IND being the favourites for two of the three remaining spots, but the third one still being uncertain after England’s continuous defeats.

2. In the next 6 days, India play 3 matches, which surely would be tiring for all the players, but would also give us a confirmation about their position on the points table after the similar number of games as all the other teams since they’ve played the least as of now (5).

3. It’s towards the end stage of the tournament with still no confirmation on who qualifies other than Australia, with all the Important must-win battles yet to come, i.e., Pakistan vs Bangladesh, Sri Lanka vs India, England vs India, England vs New Zealand, and Bangladesh vs India.

4. Pakistan are now at 7 points after 7 matches, equivalent to that of Bangladesh. With 2 more wins, it would make them equivalent to New Zealand, provided they lose their remaining two, which would infer in England winning against them going to atleast 10 points. India are at 9 after just 5 games and tomorrow’s battle might give a clear position of them as well when related with the fighting teams. Sri Lanka are at 6 points, currently the last placed teams amongst the teams fighting for the 3 spots of qualification.

5. Amongst the top 7 teams (as mentioned above), two of them battled today with one having the best NRR (NZ) and the other one having the worst (PAK), and this might play a crucial role in determining the playoff teams if the points of some teams are equivalent at the end.

6. New Zealand take on Australia next, one team which could’ve been the first to qualify the way they were going, but still haven’t, and the other who have played some amazing cricket against every team and have safely made it to the playoffs.

7. Pakistan take on Afghanistan next which could clearly mean another 2 points for them, making them the prime favourites for one of the 3 remaining spots for the knockout phase! Also, they take on Bangladesh last which could be a do-or-die battle for both the teams if the last spot is still open at that time.

Up Next –

India vs West Indies

India, on one hand, is now the only undefeated team in this World Cup, though they’ve just played 5 matches and go on to play their 6th tomorrow with majority of the teams already with 7 done.

West Indies, on the other, is the third team to be officially eliminated from the tournament after Afghanistan and South Africa and would be playing without any pressure tomorrow, which would cause a problem to India in the battle tomorrow.

The way India and West Indies played in their last games against Afghanistan and New Zealand respectively might be a cause of concern for India and they might look to correct their mistakes so that they can continue their unbeaten momentum.

India, with a win tomorrow, would get equivalent to New Zealand, and would also inch a step closer towards qualification, but with a loss tomorrow, they’d have to come back stronger against England, whom they play just 3 days after tomorrow, and then play Bangladesh with just a day’s gap after the fixture against England. A hectic schedule on the way for India with two key players Shikhar and Bhuvi not available. They surely wouldn’t want any pressure later on and would like to win tomorrow.

India go in as the favourites for the battle tomorrow.

Probable XIs –

WI – Gayle, Ambris, Hope, Pooran, Hetmeyer, Allen, Holder, Brathwaite, Nurse, Cottrell, Roach

IND – Rohit, Rahul, Kohli, Vijay, Dhoni, Pandya, Jadhav, Jadeja, Shami, Bumrah, Chahal

Possible Replacements –

1. Sunil Ambris has replaced Andre Russell, who has been ruled out of the tournament with an injury. Evin Lewis’s fitness is also a concern and Ambris might replace Lewis and open the innings with Gayle. Since the Windies have been eliminated from the tournament, it won’t be a surprise if Oshane Thomas is rested and Fabian Allen gets a chance to play in the starting XI.

2. Jadeja has been seen practicing alot in the nets during the practice sessions with the team. He looks a prime favourite to replace Kuldeep Yadav, who has been off-colour this year on a whole.