Pakistan plays effervescent Canada in a must-win match on a difficult field in New York, their future dangling by a thread.
Who: Canada vs. Pakistan
What: Group A match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024
When: June 11, Tuesday, 10:30 a.m. local time, or 14:30 p.m. GMT
Where: New York, USA’s Nassau County International Cricket Stadium
How to watch: At 11:30 GMT, Al Jazeera begins its live text and photo coverage.
Pakistan’s World Cup fate is always in doubt, so this is all too familiar ground for them.
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If they lose, their last Group A matchup with Ireland will be only a ceremonial match before they head home. If they triumph and hope that other outcomes in the group go their way, they will still be in the running if they defeat Ireland on Sunday.
Supporters and analysts alike are furious and frustrated with Pakistan’s defeat against India.
Pakistan seemed in control at the start of the eleventh over, needing 63 runs from 59 balls with eight wickets remaining, but ultimately lost by six runs.
Wasim Akram, the team’s former captain, demanded that some of the underperforming players be cut and that the lineup be adjusted.
Following the game, he declared, “After this performance, Pakistan don’t deserve to go to the Super Eight.”
According to Pakistan’s assistant coach Azhar Mahmood, the country’s hitters lost the chase because they made bad decisions in shot selection.
Before the game against Canada, which he referred to as a “do-or-die match,” Mahmood stated in his press conference that “it [poor performance] can come from nerves, or the fear of failure.”
“We need to win both of our upcoming games.”
“Believing in our chances”
Their rivals, however, see the match as an opportunity to pull off yet another significant shock in the competition.
Top-order hitter Aaron Johnson of Canada suggested that his side would benefit from the unpredictability of the pitch in New York.
He told reporters, “We are looking to use the fact that the wicket is playing some tricks, it levels the playing field for us.”
Canada has already defeated Ireland going into the game, and according to Johnson, the Maple Leafs are “fancying our chances” against an inconsistent Pakistani squad.
“We want to bat well and simply support it in the field.”
Pitch and meteorological circumstances
Though it still draws debates and criticism from experts and fans alike, the New York pitch has significantly improved since it hosted its inaugural game on June 2.
Teams may now record totals of 100 or more, but huge shots and boundaries are still hard to come by.
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Tuesday’s weather in Long Island is predicted to be cloudy and humid, so there shouldn’t be any problems for the entire game.
Comparatively
In their lone Twenty20 encounter, Pakistan defeated Canada by a score of 35 runs in 2008.
Form handbook
Despite having not won many T20 matches recently, both teams will be facing off after divergent outcomes.
Canada’s victory against Ireland will uplift their morale, but Pakistan’s two losses in two games have highlighted their misfiring batting.
Pakistan: L L L W
Canada: W L L L L
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Team News from Pakistan
Pakistan may attempt to bring in young opener Saim Ayub and substitute another fast bowler, Abbas Afridi, for one of their three spin-bowling all-round players in an effort to maintain their hopes.
Squad: Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abbas Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Usman Khan, Azam Khan, Mohammad Amir.
Team News for Canada
Canada is probably going to continue with the group that won their inaugural T20 World Cup.
Squad: Saad bin Zafar (captain), Junaid Siddiqui, Kaleem Sana, Nicholas Kirton, Pargat Singh, Rayyan Khan Pathan, Shreyas Movva, Dilon Heyliger, Dilpreet Bajwa, Harsh Thaker, Jeremy Gordon, Navneet Dhaliwal, Aaron Johnson, Ravinderpal Singh, Kanwarpal Tathgur, and Shreyas Movva.
