Pakistan are virtually out of the race to qualify for the World Cup semi-finals, needing to beat England by 287 runs in their final league game. However, Wasim Akram has a plan for victory that might be simpler to achieve. On "The Pavilion", a talk show on A Sports, a Pakistan-based sports TV channel, he told the other panelists off camera (although on the air he doesn't seem to recall his own idea) that Pakistan should bat first, get to their total and then lock England in their dressing room for 20 minutes to make sure all their batters get timed out! It's not a totally unworkable idea... is it? New Zealand beat Sri Lanka by 5 wickets, boosting their chances of making it to the World Cup semi-finals. Trent Boult's impressive bowling helped limit Sri Lanka to 170 runs. Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra's solid start made chasing this score easier.
Now, for Pakistan to advance, they must win decisively against England. How decisively? Well, as per rough estimates, they need to win by 287 runs if they bat first or reach their target with 284 balls remaining if they are chasing. Misbah-ul-Haq reacted to Wasim Akram’s solution. However, he had an even better solution for Pakistan. He suggested there was no need to bat first. Pakistan should lock England up in the beginning itself to save the hard work. The batting and bowling units have been largely disappointing, with captain Babar failing on all counts. The pace duo of Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf were off-color in important matches, while spinners never turned up for the team. Pakistan will play for pride against the Jos Buttler-led team. On the other hand, England will be eyeing a win as they are looking to consolidate their place in the points table to qualify for the 2025 Champions Trophy. According to the new rules introduced by the International Cricket Council, the top seven teams in the World Cup points table will make it to the prestigious event with host nation Pakistan.
