London     -   Pakistan will go all out in their final World Cup group fixture with Bangladesh on Friday despite facing a near impossible task to qualify for the semi-finals, skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed said on the eve of the match at Lord’s.

Pakistan need to beat Bangladesh by a margin of over 300 runs to trump New Zealand, but against a team that has played a spirited brand of cricket all tournament, it’s an unlikely proposition

The equation is simple, really. Not easy, but simple. Pakistan need to bat first. They then need to score 400 and dismiss Bangladesh for 84. That’s a win margin of 316 runs – never been achieved in the history of one-day cricket, let alone at a tournament such as the World Cup. Those margins will change depending on the scores, but the crux is that Pakistan will have to do the improbable to trump New Zealand and make the semi-finals. If Bangladesh bat first, then Pakistan are out even before the game begins.

For a brief while there, Pakistan teased 1992 all over again. Just until last week, the timeline of their progression at this year’s event was identical to what it was 27 years ago. But this time, it wasn’t meant to be, at least not as of now, barring a miracle against Bangladesh. But Sarfaraz Ahmed’s team can be proud of the fight they have shown to come this far, after a slow start, and especially after the string of defeats they came into the tournament with.

Their opponents, Bangladesh, have put up a spirited performance this World Cup. Shakib Al Hasan has done practically just about everything a cricketer can do on the field. Bangladesh have ridden the wave of Shakib’s all-round excellence to compete against the top teams in the competition. They beat South Africa and Afghanistan, pulled off a record chase against West Indies, showed several moments of brilliance in a tall chase against Australia, and nearly beat New Zealand.

Babar Azam, Pakistan’s No.3, has been remarkably consistent all tournament. He has a calm and mature head that allows for clarity in thinking as well as the right shot selection for the right situations.

Mustafizur Rahman, the left-arm pacer’s array of cutters and other variations came in handy against India as he helped Bangladesh restrict them to 314 despite a powerful start. Pakistan’s line-up is filled with some big-hitters, and Mustafizur’s battle against the likes of Fakhar Zaman and Haris Sohail could make for some riveting viewing.

Friday should be sunny and rain-free. Lord’s traditionally has offered swing for the faster bowlers early on, but don’t expect teams to depart from the proven bat-first formula. Pakistan captain Sarfaraz isn’t focused on the mathematics ahead of a match - he just wants to win. “We’re just interested in finishing the tournament on a high note and doing our best against Bangladesh,” said Sarfaraz. This is only the second meeting between these sides in World Cup history - 20 years on from their first encounter.

On that day in Northampton, Bangladesh, who were playing at the tournament for the first time, pulled off a massive shock as Khaled Mahmud’s bowling secured a 62-run victory. After that game Pakistan went on a 25-match winning streak, lasting 15 years, against their Asian rivals. However, Bangladesh have won their four encounters heading into the latest showdown at Lord’s.

“Yes we’ve lost our last four matches but this is a World Cup match,” added Sarfaraz. “Both teams are looking stronger than the last time we played, so hopefully we will do well as a team.” Bangladesh are making their ODI debut at Lord’s but Pakistan have a proud record at the ‘Home of Cricket’ - winning three of their last four matches at the ground, including a 49-run triumph over South Africa earlier in the tournament.

Sarfraz said that getting beaten by Australia, when they had Aaron Finch’s men under pressure early, really broke their back, and perhaps cost them a place in the semi-final. He also said that pitches in most of their games were tough for batting, with the ball not coming on to the bat.

“The turning point was the loss against Australia. We were in a better position to win that game but lost the way in the middle overs. “And if you look at the pitches, they were not for free and open cricket, all the matches they were tough for batting, spin was there and ball was not coming on the bat.”

Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur urged his top order to go big - admitting some frustration that Babar Azam’s 101 against New Zealand is their only century this tournament. “They are getting in and scoring but we’d like them to push on a little bit because once your top order gets in, it’s so important to go on and get a century,” he said.  “Those guys need to push on because a big score is just around the corner.”

Arthur admits an opening match defeat by the West Indies at Trent Bridge remains his biggest regret, in addition to letting a strong position slip against Australia at Taunton. “We got ourselves into a position to win against Australia and didn’t and against India we were outplayed but since then we’ve played very, very good cricket,” he said. “If we had to go back the thing that really haunts me is the loss to the West Indies, it was a game right at the start of the tournament where we should have come in firing and we didn’t.”

POINTS TABLE

Pos TEAM M W L N/R PT NRR
1 Australia 8 7 1 0 14 +1.000
2 India 8 6 1 1 13 +0.811
3 England 9 6 3 0 12 +1.152
4 New Zealand 9 5 3 1 11 +0.175
5 Pakistan 8 4 3 1 9 -0.792
6 Sri Lanka 8 3 3 2 8 -0.934
7 Bangladesh 8 3 4 1 7 -0.195
8 South Africa 8 2 5 1 5 -0.08
9 West Indies 9 2 6 1 5 -0.225
10 Afghanistan 9 0 9 0 0 -1.322