Pakistan was defeated in the 2nd Test Match against Sri Lanka by a huge margin of 246 runs. This loss was Pakistan has put them on a steep road to reaching the finals of WTC 2024. Their Percentile is now 51.85 and they have slipped to 5th position.
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Lack of resistance by Pakistani batters
The pitch turned out to be a minefield on Day 5 where scoring runs required a lot of mental application. Babar Azam showed a lot of character as sticking to the crease was a tough task. He got support from Rizwan but he was undone by the sheer brilliance of Prabath Jayasuriya. Then things got complicated as no batter was able to play according to the turn and bounce.
The run-out of Fawad Alam proved to be a defining moment as he has the knack of playing long innings. Run-outs in any format are annoying as the batting team is literally gifting a wicket. Babar tried to hold the innings from one end but was losing the batters from another side. The way he stood tall was amazing and it won’t be wrong to say that he is the core of the Pakistan Cricket Team.
Prabath Jayasuriya trapped Babar Azam and got him out on 81 runs. His dismissal was the match for Sri Lanka. Ramesh Mendis provided ample support from another end which was badly missing in the 1st Test Match. Both the spinners wrapped up the game and made sure that there is no significant partnership built.
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What can Pakistan do to qualify for WTC 2024 Final?
Pakistan’s next assignment is against England in December 2022. Beating them won’t be an easy task as the team has been rejuvenated under Brendon McCullum. At the same time, they need to win the match convincingly due to the percentile difference.
Currently, Australia and South Africa are sitting at the top and dethroning them won’t be easy. We should not forget that India is also in the frame. All in all, Pakistan is in a precarious position and their fate lies in other’s hands which is not a good thing to have.
“Written by Varad Vaichal”
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