ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 semi-finals: How Pakistan can qualify for 50-over World Cup 2023 semis

How Pakistan can reach World Cup semis: Pakistan are playing England at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in their last league match of the ICC World Cup on Saturday (November 11, 2023). Pakistan have to win their match on Saturday to keep their hopes alive for the World Cup semi-finals. However, even after winning at the Eden Gardens, their path to semi-finals will not be that easy as they need to register their victory with ahuge margin. New Zealand, after beating Sri Lanka by five wickets at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday, have 10 points from nine World Cup league matches. Kiwis have a net run rate of 0.743. So, the only way for Pakistan to move into semi-finals is to beat England comprehensive and get ahead of New Zealand's NRR. Anyone who reaches semi-finals, is set to play India in the first semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday (November 15). In the second semi-final at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday (November 16), South Africa and Australia are most likely to face each other.

In this write-up, ZeeBiz will tell you how Pakistan can advance to the last-four stage.

Also Read: ENG vs PAK FREE Live Streaming: When and how to watch England vs Pakistan Cricket World Cup 2023 Match live on Web, TV, mobile apps online

ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 semi-finals: How Pakistan can reach semis

If Pakistan bat first

In such a condition, Pakistan need to beat England by 288 runs. Hypothetically, If Pakistan are scoring 400 runs in their innings, they need to restrict England to 112 runs.      

If Pakistan bowl first

This condition seems almost impossible to achieve since Pakistan need to chase down the target with 284 deliveries to spare, which means, they need to win the match in just two overs and four balls in a 50-over match.