As of now, to surpass New Zealand and secure a semis berth, Pakistan will have to score 450-odd runs and defeat Bangladesh by 316 runs to qualify with the required net run rate.
Sarfaraz Ahmed at a press conference (Pic/ AFP)
Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed has said that his team will pull a rabbit out of the hat against Bangladesh by scoring 500 runs to qualify for the semi-finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
ADVERTISEMENT
As things stand at the moment, Pakistan has to score more than 450 runs and beat Bangladesh by a margin of at least 316 runs to qualify for the semi-finals with a higher run rate than New Zealand.
Also Read: World Cup 2019: Pakistan's performance not bad at all, says Moin Khan
All of Pakistan's chances will be eliminated at the toss itself, if Bangladesh win the toss and decide to bat first. If that happens, Pakistan has no chance of having a higher run rate that New Zealand even if they win the match.
Keeping the conditions for qualifying in mind, Sarfaraz, at a pre-match press conference held on Thursday, said the team will try and win the match.
"We have to be realistic, but we will try to score 500 runs against Bangladesh. We have to score 500 runs and try to bowl out Bangladesh for 50. It is very clear that Pakistan have to beat Bangladesh by 316 runs to qualify for the semi-finals. We will try to win the match," he said.
Also Read: World Cup 2019: Moeen Ali's father on how he made his son a champ
The highest total achieved by a team so far is 481 - by England against Australia. No team in ODI history has ever gone past that score.
Pakistan's highest total in ODIs is 399 against Zimbabwe. If the team scores 500 runs, they will become the first to achieve this feat.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, are out of the tournament, as they only have seven points from their eight matches.
Pakistan, one of the most passionate teams at the World Cup, will be going out all guns blazing against Bangladesh at Lord's in their last league game of the World Cup 2019.
With inputs from ANI
Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
