New Delhi: Babar Azam-led Pakistan cricket team defied all odds, on Sunday, to pull off a miraculous win over Bangladesh at the Adelaide Oval in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. Pakistan were ranked number 1 team in ICC Men's T20 rankings when they entered the tournament and were expected to dominate. However, their weak middle order and bad luck led to back-to-back disappointing outings, still they somehow managed to secure a place in the semi-finals of the tournament, alongside India, New Zealand and England.
How a depleted Pakistan crawled to ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 semi-finals?
Ahead of Sunday, for Pakistan to secure a place in the final four, they needed either India or South Africa to lose their respective matches and also a win over Bangladesh. South Africa endured a shock 13-run defeat against Netherlands, and later Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by 5 wickets in what can be called a 'virtual quarterfinal' to make it to the semis.
Meanwhile, former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad's tweet, taking a sarcastic jibe at Pakistan, has gone viral on the internet. In his tweet, Prasad pointed out how Netherlands' T20 World Cup jersey color - saffron - helped Men in Green survive in the tournament.
"So Bhagwa has helped Pakistan reach the semis," Venkatesh Prasad tweeted on Sunday.
In the ICC T20 World Cup 2022, New Zealand and England have reached the semi-finals from Group-1, while India and Pakistan have qualified for the semi-finals from Group-2. India are playing their last league match against Zimbabwe and if they win, they will top Group-2 and reach the semi-finals to face England in Adelaide on November 10. If India loses, which is highly unlikely, then they will take on New Zealand on 9th November at the Sydney Cricket Ground.