Pakistan's harrowing 1-run defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe in their second Super 12 match of T20 World Cup 2022 on Thursday has severely dented their hopes of reaching the semifinals.
After narrowly losing in the semifinal of last year's World Cup in UAE, Babar Azam and Co were hoping to go all the way in Australia, but after two matches, they haven't picked up a single point so far.
The Green Army failed to chase down the 130-run target set by Zimbabwe in Perth which further compiled their miseries.
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Earlier, they had also endured a last-ball defeat at the hands of Team India, and after two back-to-back losses in the Super 12, Pakistan will have to hope for results elsewhere to go in their favour, if they are to reach the semifinals.
How Pakistan can still reach the semis of T20 World Cup 2022?
First and foremost, Babar Aza's men cannot afford to lose another game. All of their remaining matches against the Netherlands (October 30), South Africa (November 3), and Bangladesh (November 6) become must-win games. They also need to win all of those matches by big margins to further boost their Net Run Rate (NRR), should it boil down to that.
But that alone may not be enough for Pakistan to secure a place in the semis.
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They would need at least three other teams in Group B to lose at least two matches.
Pakistan will also need to beat South Africa and hope that India can beat the Proteas as well. In that case, Babar's side can pip Temba Bavuma's men to second place.
Zimbabwe also boosted their chances of reaching the semis with their win over Pakistan. If they lose two matches from their remaining games against Bangladesh, the Netherlands, and India, then Pakistan will still have a chance.
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Bangladesh and Netherlands also have chances of reaching the next round mathematically, but Pakistan need both of them to lose two of their remaining games, which is another stroke of luck.
Even though Babar's side may not reach the semis, they have nonetheless played some good cricket, and they should hope to continue doing the same in their remaining games.
