Mohammad Rizwan scored a crucial half-century and Babar Azam played a captain’s knock as Pakistan rebounded from successive defeats to beat Canada by seven wickets on Tuesday, keeping their hopes of reaching the T20 World Cup Super Eight stage alive.
Pakistan, now third in Group A with two points after one win in three matches, have a chance to advance to the next round if one of the group’s top two teams, India or the United States, lose both their remaining matches and Pakistan beats Ireland on Sunday.
Canada, also with two points, need the United States or India to lose their remaining games and must defeat India themselves on Saturday to have a shot at finishing in the top two.
Batting first, Canada’s Aaron Johnson (52) fought a lone battle against Pakistan’s pace attack. Mohammad Amir (2-13) and Haris Rauf (2-26) spearheaded the bowling effort, with support from Shaheen Afridi (1-21) and Naseem Shah (1-24), ensuring Canada could not find a rhythm.
Only three Canadian batters reached double digits, and without Johnson’s maiden World Cup fifty and a late surge from Kaleem Sana (13 not out), Canada would have struggled to post their modest total of 106-7.
In the temporary arena at East Meadow, where India and South Africa recently defended low-scoring targets, Pakistan initially appeared shaky at 21-1 after five overs as Saim Ayub (6) fell early.
However, Rizwan (53 not out) and Azam (33) steadied the innings, taking few risks and frequently rotating strikes. Azam hit one six and one four before falling to Dillon Heyliger (2-18), but Pakistan comfortably reached their target with 15 balls to spare.
“That was a very important win,” said player of the match Mohammad Amir. “One more win, and who knows what might happen.
