New Zealand's win over Sri Lanka in their last round-robin fixture of the ICC Men's World Cricket World Cup 2023 has more or less sealed their place in the semifinal of the tournament. In addition, New Zealand's five-wicket win has also all but drawn curtains to Pakistan's chances of making it to the final four who will have to beat England by 287 runs while batting first in their last league match or finish off a run-chase with 284 balls remaining to better the Kiwis net run-rate (NRR) and meet India in the semis.
With the two scenarios practically impossible especially the one while chasing the target, former India cricketer Virender Sehwag took to social media site X (formerly Twitter) to troll the Babar Azam-led side. Taking a dig at the popular slogan "Pakistan Zindabaad" or "Long Live Pakistan", Sehwag wrote: "Pakistan Zindabhaag! Have a safe flight back home" which loosely translates to Pakistan run away alive.
Check out Sehwag's social media post here:
Semifinal Lineups Of ICC World Cup 2023 Almost Confirmed
Meanwhile, the semifinal lineups for World Cup 2023 are almost confirmed. While India are all but set to lock horns against New Zealand in a repeat of the 2019 World Cup semifinals but this time around at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on November 15, South Africa and Australia will meet in Eden Gardens, Kolkata in the second semifinal the following day on November 16. The final will be played between the winners of both the teams on November 19 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
South Africa and New Zealand have never won the ODI World Cup while India have two such titles. Australia are the most successful team in the history of the tournament with five 50-over World Cups (1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015) to their credit.