Article Posted on 8 November, 2023

Pakistan kept alive their slender chances of making the semi-finals of the 50-over World Cup with a comprehensive seven-wicket victory against Bangladesh, who were eliminated from the tournament on Tuesday.

Openers Fakhar Zaman (81) and Abdullah Shafique (68) combined in a 128-run stand to set up the victory, as the Men in Green successfully chased 205-run target with 17.3 overs to spare in a major net run-rate boost for them.

"Because of the situation that we are in at the moment, we were looking to chase the target down in 28-29 overs, so I went hard. Otherwise it was very easy for me to get to the 100 but our goal was to chase it down quickly," Zaman said in post-match press conference.

Babar Azam's men moved into fifth place after their third win in seven matches, while Bangladesh became the first team to drop out of contention.

Fakhar, a 33-year-old left-hander, was playing only his second match of the tournament after being sidelined with a knee injury.

"We were anxiously waiting for this win," said Zaman.

"Every win in the World Cup boosts the confidence and our aim is to win the remaining two matches. Our target is semi-final."

Zaman admitted the defeat to India earlier in the tournament had been a body-blow but the team had gained new confidence by pushing South Africa all the way.

Pakistan fought hard against the Proteas only to lose by a narrow one-wicket margin in Chennai on Friday.

"That loss to India made the difference, every match against India does but we fought well in the South Africa match and that fight gave us much-needed rhythm," said Zaman.

Zaman also said the impact of his injury was not as severe as first feared.

"I was batting well in the nets and had the team needed me before I would have played but my aim is to always score runs that help the team win."