Has Pakistan been knocked out of the 2024 T20 World Cup after loss to India?
Pakistan's horrid 2024 T20 World Cup campaign continued after they failed to chase down 120 runs against India in New York on Sunday, June 9. Coupled with the earlier defeat to co-hosts United States of America, the Men in Green are on the verge of elimination.
Currently, Pakistan are placed at the bottom of the group with no points to their name and have two matches remaining. They are scheduled to face Canada and Ireland, but qualifying for the Super 8 stage is not in their hands anymore, as winning both matches might not prove enough to progress.
For Pakistan to progress to the next stage, the USA will have to lose their remaining matches against Ireland and India. As far as India are concerned, they just need one more win to qualify. With their remaining matches being against the USA and Canada, India have a serious chance of progressing into the Super 8 unbeaten.
The crucial and perhaps group-deciding encounter between the United States of America and Ireland is scheduled for Friday, June 14, in Lauderhill, Florida.
"Will sit and discuss our mistakes but looking forward to last two matches" - Pakistan skipper Babar Azam
The Men in Green have played below-par cricket across all departments and their early exit could soon be reality if things don't pick up and the other fixtures do not go their way.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam assessed the defeat to their arch-rivals and felt that there were far too many dot balls which built up pressure.
"We bowled well. In the batting, lost back to back wickets and had too much dot balls. Tactics was simple to play normally. Just strike rotation and the odd boundary. But in that period we had too many dot balls. Can't expect much from tailenders," Babar Azam said during the post-match presentation.
"Our mind was to utilise first overs in batting. But one wicket down, and again we weren't up to the mark in first six. Pitch looked decent. Ball was coming on nicely. It was a little bit slow, and some balls extra bounce. Have to win last two matches. Will sit and discuss our mistakes but looking forward to last two matches," Babar added.
Pakistan's next match is scheduled against Canada at the same venue on Tuesday, June 11.