Can Pakistan still qualify for the Tri-Nation series final?

Host Pakistan will take the field for a virtual knockout encounter against South Africa, as a loss would eliminate them from the Tri-Nation series final race.

It feels reminiscent of 90s cricket when tri-nation series were the talk of the town, and now, we are getting a bit of that fever again as the tri-nation series featuring Pakistan, New Zealand, and South Africa is going.

After four matches, we have our first team in the final. Yes, New Zealand has secured their spot. Meanwhile, the other two teams, South Africa and hosts Pakistan, need to step up to reach the tri-nation series final.

Speaking of Pakistan, they suffered a heavy defeat in their first game against New Zealand. The Blackcaps dominated the hosts in a one-sided contest, winning by 78 runs, thanks to Glenn Phillips’ century, which left the hosts in trouble.

Now, Pakistan, who entered the tournament as favourites, find themselves struggling. So, how can they still qualify for the tri-nation series final? See in detail.

Do Pakistan still have a chance to make the tri-nation series final?

For Pakistan, the equation is simple, they need to defeat South Africa in the upcoming game. Thankfully for the Men in Green, New Zealand recently defeated South Africa, making things slightly easier for the Shaheens. However, this doesn’t mean Pakistan’s task has become easy, as the Proteas are never an easy team to beat.

That said, Pakistan will go into the match as favourites against South Africa for one key reason, they have a net run rate of -0.249, which is slightly better than South Africa’s. This means a decent win with a considerable margin will improve their chances significantly.

However, given Pakistan’s history of either winning knockout games by a huge margin or suffering shocking defeats, it will be interesting to see how things comes.