Pakistan were officially knocked out of ODI World Cup 2023 on Saturday after they failed to chase an improbable target of 338 in 6.4 overs in their last league match against England at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Riding on Ben Stokes’ attacking knock, England posted a total of 337/9 in 50 overs against Pakistan. Stokes smashed 84 from 76 balls to help spark England in their final game of the tournament, while Jonny Bairstow (59) and Joe Root (60) also hit half-centuries.
Thereafter, the Babar Azam led Pakistan needed to chase the whole target of 338 runs in 6.4 overs to overcome New Zealand's Run Rate. However, they lost the wickets of both openers Abdullah Shafique and Fakhar Zaman cheaply and could only manage to score 30/2 after 6.4 overs, getting officially knocked out of the semi-finals race.
New Zealand had finished on 10 points in the table and Pakistan can still level Kane Williamson's side on the number of points by beating England in their last game but they can no longer surpass the Kiwis on Net Run Rate (NRR).
With Pakistan's elimination, New Zealand became the fourth and last team to qualify for the semi-finals and all four sides have been confirmed for the knockout stage of the ODI World Cup 2023.
Semifinal One: India vs New Zealand
Hosts India will finish top of the standings during the group stage of the event regardless of the result in their final match against the Netherlands on Sunday.
The Rohit Sharma led side will face New Zealand in the first semi-final on Wednesday, November 15 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Notably, India will meet New Zealand in the ODI World Cup semi-finals for the second-successive time. During the last ODI World Cup in 2019, New Zealand beat India by 21 runs in a rain-hit semi final in Manchester.
However, hosts India had defeated New Zealand by four wickets in the group stage last month in Dharamshala in the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023 and it will give them a lot of confidence.
Semifinal Two: Australia vs South Africa
The second semi-final of the ODI World Cup 2023 will be played between South Africa and Australia on Thursday, 16 November at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
The winner of this match will progress to the final and will face either India or New Zealand.