Babar Azam and Co. are all set to face the No. 3 team in the ICC Rankings table i.e South Africa today at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Pakistan will have to go a long way in order to secure their spot in the semi-finals as currently, the team is stuck at the bowler 5th position in the rankings table following three consecutive defeats against India, Australia and Afghanistan. It will be interesting to see if Babar’s men will be able to make today’s big clash worthwhile or not.
A big breakthrough for the team
With the big match ahead, Pakistani seamer Hasan Ali has been certainly ruled out of the clash against the Proteas as the bowler got fever on Wednesday. Due to his illness and inability to recover fast, Hasan Ali won’t be able to make it up for the fixture against South Africa. With Hasan Ali’s dismissal, Mohammad Wasim Jr. has been named as a replacement for the illness struck bowler.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has advised him to take proper rest as the second half of the World Cup 2023 is of utmost importance for Babar’s men owing to their gloomy rank in the table. By any chance, the team will need to win today’s match against the Proteas to seal their spot in the semi-finals.
Blowout to the squad
With Pakistan already struggling with its team’s performance, it got another big breakthrough as Hasan Ali was playing really well in the past matches of the ongoing tournament. He took a total of 8 wickets in five innings with an economy rate of 5.82. With Naseem Shah already out of the squad due to niggle he picked in the Asia Cup 2023, Hasan Ali was included as a replacement card for the star bowler.
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