Pakistan recorded a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Canada to keep their hopes of progressing to the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup alive.
A timely half-century from Mohammed Rizwan and a captain’s knock from Babar Azam helped Pakistan bounce back from consecutive losses to beat Canada at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in Westbury, New York.
Pakistan are currently third in the table with two points after one win from three matches, but a win on Tuesday could still give them a chance to finish in the top two in Group A. If Ireland beat hosts USA on Friday, a win against Ireland on Sunday would guarantee them a place in the finals.
Canada, also on two points, needs a win against India on Saturday to stay in the top-two race.
Opener Aaron Johnson (52) fought a lonely battle against Pakistan’s fast-bowling attack. Mohammed Amir (2-13) and Haris Rauf (2-26) spearheaded the Pakistan attack while Shaheen Afridi (1-21) and Naseem Shah (1-24) helped Canada to struggle to find rhythm.
Only three Canadian batsmen reached double figures and, without Johnson’s first World Cup fifty and Kareem Sana’s late onslaught (13 not out), Canada would have struggled to reach the modest total of 106-7 they posted.
Pakistan’s Mohammed Rizwan scored 50 in the match against Canada.
At the makeshift arena at East Meadow, India and South Africa had managed to stick to a target of less than one run per ball in recent days, but with Saim Ayub (6) falling early and Pakistan looking precarious at 21 for 1 after five overs, it looked like another low-scoring, hard-fought contest.
But Rizwan (53 not out) and Azam (33) kept the ship steady, taking few risks and alternating strikes frequently. Captain Azam played cautiously, hitting one six and one four before being felled by Dhillon Heyliger (2-18), but Pakistan reached the target comfortably with 15 balls to spare.
What’s next?
Two matches will take place in the early hours of Wednesday 12 June, with Sri Lanka vs Nepal being broadcast live on Sky Sports Action from 12am (midnight), followed by Australia vs Namibia at 1am on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket.
Then on Wednesday afternoon, hosts USA and India will face off live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket from 3pm.
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