Pakistan needed to defeat New Zealand to keep themselves alive in the 2023 World Cup. With rain forecasted, they won the toss and elected to field, a decision that came in handy in the end. At the mid-innings break, Pakistan’s campaign seemed all but over, for New Zealand had racked up 401 on the board. However, Fakhar Zaman had other ideas.

Having scored a 74-ball 81 against Bangladesh in his comeback game a few days back, Fakhar now blasted a 63-ball 100 against New Zealand. He got solid support from Babar Azam as the pair ensured that Pakistan remained ahead of the DLS par score at all times during the chase.

A second rain interruption 25.3 overs into Pakistan’s innings turned out to be the last. At that stage, Pakistan were ahead of the DLS par score by 21 runs, which ended up being the victory margin for them.

World Cup 2023: Where do Pakistan stand?

With this victory, Pakistan have jumped to fifth on the points table and now have eight points, same as New Zealand and Afghanistan.

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Despite the result, however, they were not able to leapfrog New Zealand’s net run rate, who still sit fourth on the table. Afghanistan, meanwhile, have the worst net run rate of the three and are sixth.

Pakistan and New Zealand both have one league game remaining, against England and Sri Lanka respectively, while Afghanistan have two.

World Cup 2023: Can Pakistan qualify for the semi-final if their last match is rained out?

Pakistan’s last match against England is in Kolkata on November 11. There have been brief spells of rain in the city over the last few days. Although the current forecast for November 11 predicts a very slight chance of rain, it can change over time.

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In case the match gets washed out and both teams share a point, Pakistan will finish with nine points from their nine games. Their semi-final qualification will then depend on the results of New Zealand’s and Afghanistan’s remaining games.

Three teams – India, Australia, and South Africa – have already gone beyond the nine-point mark, so Pakistan won’t be able to reach them. The only other teams with the possibility of reaching nine or more points are New Zealand and Afghanistan.

New Zealand have one game remaining (against Sri Lanka), while Afghanistan have two (against South Africa and Australia). In a simple equation, Pakistan will need both Afghanistan and New Zealand to lose all their remaining games. That way, they will remain stuck on eight points each while Pakistan will qualify with nine points.

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However, the catch here is that Pakistan’s last game is on November 11. By then, New Zealand and Afghanistan will have played all their games. So, when Pakistan take the field against England, the equation will be crystal clear for them.

If New Zealand and Afghanistan lose all their games, Pakistan fans might even hope for a wash out against England as that would be enough for qualification.

To find out all the other qualification scenarios for Pakistan, read this.