Harbhajan Singh has said that the Pakistani team has no chance of making it into the semi-final of the ICC World Cup 2023. Pakistan will play England in their final league-stage match in Kolkata on November 11.
To beat New Zealand’s net run rate after their big win over Sri Lanka the other day, Pakistan needs to defeat England by an impossible margin. If the Men in Green bat first, they need to beat England by almost 300 runs. The task becomes impossible if they are put to bowl first.
Harbhajan Singh said Pakistan doesn’t have a chance of qualifying for the knockout stages. He went on to say that Pakistan will have to go back as they won’t be able to beat England by the required margin.
“I don't think they have any chance. It will be like cheating yourself that they have a chance. Pakistan will have to win the match by 285-odd runs. They might not score those many runs in total. If they have to win the match by 285-odd runs, they will have to score 400 or 450. If they score 400-450 runs in a match, the other team won't come to eat chole. They will also come and bat a little. So understand what sort of pitch it would be. They will have to go back now,” Harbhajan said on Star Sports.
He said that the semi-finalists have been decided as even Afghanistan needs to beat South Africa by a huge margin which is around 438 runs.
“Afghanistan will also have to win by a very big margin. It's not that it's going to be easy for them as well, but I feel the four teams have been decided. New Zealand have progressed,” said Harbhajan.
On the other hand, Michael Vaughan decided to take a funny jibe at the Pakistani team and fans. He shared a stat sheet in which it was shown that by how many runs Pakistan needs to defeat England by if they bat first. The sheet also showed how many overs Pakistan had to chase a certain target set by England if they bat first.
He posted on X: “Keep believing Pakistan. You never know .. #CWC2023”
