The semi-finalists for the 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup have been confirmed after Pakistan’s inevitable elimination. England’s crucial victory over New Zealand on Wednesday meant Pakistan needed a miracle in their final group game against Bangladesh to progress to the knockout stages. Sarfaraz Ahmed’s side needed to win the toss at Lord’s on Friday morning, elect to bat first and win by around 300 runs to pip New Zealand to fourth place on net run-rate. Pakistan did bat after Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza called incorrectly and reached 180-1 in the 32nd over after losing opener Fakhar Zaman early.
Babar Azam led the way with a typically fluent and elegant innings, falling just four runs short of his century after being trapped LBW by Mohammad Saifuddin. Imam ul-Haq was not to be denied a hundred, however, and only made his way back to the dressing room after treading on his own stumps for exactly 100. Pakistan’s attempt to post a huge total was thwarted by Mustafizur Rahman, who took five wickets including two in the final over. And their exit from the tournament was confirmed after they were restricted to 315-9 from their 50 overs. New Zealand have qualified for the semi-finals in fourth despite suffering three successive defeats, while hosts and pre-tournament favourites England finish third. Australia and India will battle it out for top-spot on Saturday when they face South Africa and Sri Lanka respectively.
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