Pakistan Keeps Hopes Alive with Thrilling Win over Canada

Karachi, Pakistan – Pakistan’s national cricket team kept their hopes of qualifying for the Super 12 stage of the 2022 T20 World Cup alive with a nail-biting 33-run victory over Canada on Tuesday. Chasing a modest target of 142 runs, Canada looked in control early on as Ravinderpal Singh and Dillon Heyliger put on an opening stand of 60 runs. However, once the partnership was broken, Pakistan’s bowlers took charge, suffocating Canada’s scoring rate. Mohammad Nawaz and Haris Rauf claimed three wickets each, while Shadab Khan and Mohammad Hasnain chipped in with two wickets apiece. Captain Babar Azam also played a crucial role, taking a brilliant catch to dismiss Singh and inspire his teammates. Canada eventually fell short of the target, managing only 108 runs for the loss of nine wickets in their allotted 20 overs. Singh top-scored for the North Americans with 49 not out, but his efforts were not enough to prevent Pakistan from securing a crucial victory. Earlier, Pakistan had posted a competitive total of 141/7 batting first. Fakhar Zaman led the charge with a swashbuckling 53 off 38 balls, while Iftikhar Ahmed and Mohammad Rizwan made valuable contributions of 28 and 27, respectively. Canada’s bowlers, led by Nikhil Dutta and Karan Randhawa, kept Pakistan in check throughout the innings, but the Pakistani batsmen managed to find boundaries at crucial junctures to post a defendable total. The win keeps Pakistan in contention for one of the two qualifying spots from Group A. They must now beat Bangladesh on Thursday and hope that South Africa fails to defeat India in their match on Sunday to advance to the next round. “It was a great team effort today,” said Azam after the match. “We knew we had to come out strong, and the bowlers really stepped up and made the difference. We still have a lot of work to do, but we’re confident that we can qualify for the Super 12s.” Canada, meanwhile, will now play their final group match against the Netherlands on Thursday. While their chances of progressing are slim, they will be aiming to finish their campaign on a high.Pakistan’s hopes of reaching the T20 World Cup Super Eight stage remain alive after they bounced back from successive defeats to beat Canada by seven wickets in New York.Pakistan’s hopes of reaching the T20 World Cup Super Eight stage remain alive after they bounced back from successive defeats to beat Canada by seven wickets in New York. Mohammad Rizwan scored a timely half-century and Babar Azam played a captain’s knock as Pakistan chased down Canada’s modest total of 106 with 15 balls to spare. Aaron Johnson waged a lone battle against Pakistan’s pace attack, hitting 52 off 46 balls, but only three other Canadian batters reached double figures. Mohammad Amir and Haris Rauf led the charge for Pakistan with the ball, taking two wickets each, while Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah also chipped in. Pakistan’s victory keeps them third in Group A with two points after one win in three matches. They have a shot at finishing in the top two if Ireland beat hosts United States on Friday and lose to Pakistan on Sunday. Canada, also on two points, needs a win over India on Saturday to stay in the top-two race.Pakistan kept their hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup alive with a thrilling three-wicket victory over Canada in a crucial Group A encounter at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Chasing 192 for victory, Pakistan looked in control with Mohammad Rizwan (49) and Babar Azam (31) putting on a solid 79-run partnership for the first wicket. However, the middle order faltered, losing three wickets in quick succession, including the key wicket of Fakhar Zaman (18). The Pakistani batsmen struggled to keep up with the required run rate, and at one stage, they needed 54 runs from the last three overs. However, Asif Ali (20* off 12 balls) and Shoaib Malik (18* off 19 balls) played cameos to steer their team to victory with just one ball to spare. Earlier, Canada had posted a competitive total of 191/5, thanks to a fine innings from Rizwan Cheema (52) and a late cameo from Nikhil Dutta (46* off 26 balls). Pakistan’s victory keeps them in contention for a semi-final spot. They will now face Bangladesh in their final group match on Sunday, knowing that a win could see them through to the last four.