Published: Jun 26, 2019, 11:53 PM (IST)
Edited: Jun 26, 2019, 11:56 PM (IST)
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Match 33 of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 between New Zealand and Pakistan at Edgbaston, Birmingham on Wednesday.
Their campaign revived by a win over South Africa, Pakistan will continue their battle of survival when they face an unstoppable New Zealand in a must-win World Cup clash in Birmingham on Wednesday.
Pakistan faced severe criticism after their loss to arch-rivals India but their 49-run win over South Africa breathed life into their campaign but the road ahead is a tough one.
With just two wins and three losses, Pakistan are at the seventh spot with five points in six games.
Sarfaraz Ahmed and his men will now not only have to win the remaining three matches, starting with New Zealand, but also hope that the results in other matches favour them to salvage any hopes of a semifinal berth.
While the batting and bowling units delivered against the Proteas, fielding is an area of concern for Pakistan and Sarfaraz too admitted that the team will need to pull up its socks.
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“We have to work harder on fielding. Again we dropped so many catches (against South Africa), some straightforward and some half-chances. All three matches now are very crucial and we have to sort it out,” Sarfaraz had said after the match.
New Zealand, on the other hand, have been invincible so far and currently hold the top position in the points table.
The Black Caps, led by inspiration skipper Kane Williamson, have been on a roll ever since they streamrolled Sri Lanka in their opening match.
But no team is unbeatable and New Zealand looked vulnerable against South Africa and the West Indies but it was skipper Williamson’s twin hundreds which helped them seal the wins.
