The eighth edition of the T20 World Cup is proving to be a gem of a tournament with so many unpredictable results. Ireland ousting West Indies, Zimbabwe beating Pakistan, Ireland upsetting England, and now the Netherlands beating South Africa have been the top unexpected results produced in T20 World Cup 2022. The result of the South Africa-Netherlands match also opened the doors to the semifinals for almost-knocked-out Pakistan.
The Men in Green are taking on Bangladesh in their last league game which is a virtual quarterfinal. The winner goes through to the semifinals and joins India, England, and New Zealand. Although Pakistan are the favourites against Bangladesh, so were South Africa against the Netherlands. But the way the Babar Azam-led team has recovered from the two big losses early in the group stage gives them an edge over their counterparts.
And with momentum on their side, Pakistan may enter the semifinals by cruising past Bangladesh. And A akash Chopra believes if the Men in Green play the semifinals, they will also be playing the finals. Basically, Chopra has backed Pakistan to take down either of England and New Zealand in the semifinals.
“If Pakistan make it to the semis today, they’ll be playing the finals,” tweeted Chopra after the Netherlands win over South Africa.
Talking about the match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and decided to bat first. And despite an early blow in the form of Litton Das, the Tigers have started firmly. Najmul Hassan Shanto and Soumya Sarkar have played the Pakistani bowlers sensibly, putting the bad deliveries away while respecting the good ones.
Meanwhile, Pakistan have kept things in control by not leaking too many runs. Shaheen Afridi provided the first breakthrough as he got last match’s half-centurion Litton Das caught at point. Meanwhile, Naseem Shah bowled a good two-run over to end the powerplay on a high.
