Pakistan defeated Bangladesh in their last group match to qualify for the semifinals.
Pakistan needed the result of South Africa-Netherlands game to go in their favour and it exactly happened as the Proteas suffered a 13-run defeat at the hands of the Dutch team.
The result paved the way for Pakistan or Bangladesh to reach the semifinal from Group 2, along with India. Ultimately it was Pakistan who came through, courtesy a comprehensive five-wicket win over Bangladesh.
WATCH – “We had belief,” Babar Azam addresses his team after reaching semis by beating Bangladesh
Speedster Shaheen Afridi starred with the ball in Pakistan’s victory, returning with the figures of 4/22 in four overs. Thanks to his heroics, Pakistan restricted Bangladesh to 127/8 and chased it down with 11 balls to spare.
After the game, Shaheen attended a press conference, where he had a message for the former Pakistani cricketers who had been critical of the team after the first two losses in the tournament.
Notably, the Men in Green were in dire straits after suffering two back-to-back last-over defeats in the Super 12 round versus India and Zimbabwe. However, they showed great character and bounced back to register wins against Netherlands, South Africa and Bangladesh.
“Fans ki vajah se hi ham semi-final me pohoche hain. Unki dua hai, jo apne log karte hain. Mera ye hai ki kabhi kabhi dil ko lagta hai ki jo hamaare top ke cricketer hain, unko chahiye ki mushkil time me vo team ko support karein. Ye nahi ki ham semi-final aur final jeete, fir support kare. Team ko support uss time chahiye jab team haare. Logon ki dua ki vajah se ham semi-final jeete, unka support hamesha hamaare saath hai. (We reached the semi-finals because of fan's prayers. I sometimes feel in my heart that our top cricketers need to support us at our difficult time, and not when we reach semi-finals or finals. Team needs support when we lose. We won because of the fans' prayers and their support),” Afridi said.
Shaheen credited captain Babar Azam after Pakistan's remarkable turn of fortune in the tournament despite losing the first two games.
“The credit goes to the whole team. We played good cricket. The games we lost were decided on the last ball, but still we played good cricket. We didn't get the results in our favour but a good team never falls after a loss. The captain plays a big role to lift the team and support us. We are backing each other and as a result we have won here.”
The Babar Azam-led Pakistan side will now face New Zealand in the first semi-final at SCG on Wednesday (November 9).