Lock England dressing room, get them timed out: Wasim Akram’s hilarious take on Pakistan’s semi-final chances | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: New Zealand have virtually knocked both Afghanistan and Pakistan out of the race to the ICC World Cup semi-finals, leaving the two teams only mathematically alive after Sri Lanka proved to be no match for the Kiwis in their last league fixture in Bengaluru on Thursday.
New Zealand moved to 10 points with a five-wicket win over the Lankans, but more importantly boosted their net run rate (NRR) to the point that it’s almost impossible for Pakistan and Afghanistan to catch up even if they also get to 10 points by winning their respective last round-robin matches.

Pakistan are now left with an almost impossible task of beating England by a minimum 280 runs (the exact margin of runs to be re-calculated if Pakistan bat first) or chasing down whatever target they are given in under five overs.

Knowing that the World Cup is now practically over for Pakistan, bowling legend and former captain Wasim Akram shared his hilarious take with former teammates and co-guests on the news channel ‘A Sports’.
The host on the show said that Akram had one other scenario in which Pakistan can still go on to qualify for the semis, which the legend had shared backstage.

“Wasim bhai gave the idea that Pakistan should bat first, then lock England up in their dresing room and get them timed out in 20 minutes to win the match,” the host said, leaving the guests in splits.

Former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq, who was also one of the experts on the show, had an even better idea: “Allow England to bat first and lock up the dressing room after that. Why let them put up a total at all!”

Afghanistan face South Africa on Friday while Pakistan take on England on Saturday.