The Pakistan cricket team slumped to its second successive defeat in the T20 World Cup 2024 with a six-run loss against arch-rivals India in New York on Sunday.
The result opened up Group A with co-host and first-timers United States being the greatest beneficiary of the outcome.
The USA had an excellent start to their T20 World Cup campaign as they beat neighbours Canada in their opener.
Add to the United States’ surprise win over Pakistan and it is easy to see why the T20 World Cup co-hosts are in pole position alongside India to qualify for the Super 8s.
Who will qualify for the T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8s: Format explained
The ongoing edition of the T20 World Cup is the first time in Cricket World Cup history that 20 teams are participating in a single edition.
The first round has four groups, comprising five teams, with each team playing four matches. The top two teams from every group will then proceed to the Super 8s.
The eight teams will then be classified into two groups again and the two top teams as per points on the standings from each group after the completion of the Super 8 stage will proceed to the semi-finals.
This is only the second time in nine editions of the ICC marquee 20-over event that the Men in Green have lost their first two encounters.
In fact, the last time it happened, Pakistan bounced back to register four consecutive victories to march into the final of the 2022 T20 World Cup, where they lost to eventual champions England.
Add to that their multiple appearances in the semi-finals and final of the previous T20 World Cups, and one can understand why it is impossible to write off Pakistan even after their dismal showing in the ongoing T20 World Cup.
Here’s a closer look at how Pakistan can qualify for T20 World Cup 2024 knockouts.
How can Pakistan qualify for T20 World Cup 2024 knockouts
In their remaining two group games at the 2024 T20 World Cup, Pakistan will play Canada in New York on June 11 before finishing off their group stage proceedings against Ireland at Lauderhill on June 16.
To keep their bleak qualification hopes alive, Pakistan need to register big wins in their remaining matches along with some favourable results with big victory margins from elsewhere to make it to the next stage of the tournament.
The winners of the match between India and the United States, which will be held in New York on June 12, will move to six points to set one foot in the Super 8s.
India and the United States need just one point from their remaining two matches to send Pakistan out of the competition.
On the other hand, Pakistan will need all the matches involving the USA and India to have a result while they themselves ensure handsome wins in their own games by a big margin.
With its proximity to the home side in terms of net run rate, Pakistan will hope that the United States loses both its remaining matches, which will bring the Men in Green close to the hosts on the points table and give the 2009 T20 World Champions a chance to progress to the knockouts with big wins in both their remaining matches.
So far, the only thing that has gone in favour of Pakistan is their close margin of losses. These low margins of defeat have kept them in the Super 8 reckoning, at least on paper.
To progress to the playoff stage, Pakistan will be eyeing for comprehensive wins while also hoping for all the help they can get from others in terms of results that open up their pathway to the 2024 T20 World Cup knockouts.
They have been in similar positions in the recent past. A washed-out game for South Africa against Zimbabwe followed by the Proteas’ shock defeat to the Netherlands in 2022 helped Pakistan progress in the 2022 edition of the T20 World Cup.
Pakistan will hope for something similar in the ongoing edition of the tournament but before anything else, they will need to ensure that they win big in their remaining group games against Canada and Ireland to stand an outside chance of making the Super 8 in T20 World Cup 2024.
Photo credit: Alamy
