Pakistan’s hopes of qualifying for the knockout stage of the World Cup in India were dealt a cruel blow after England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and elected to bat first at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday (Nov 11) afternoon.

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The men-in-green needed to bat first to keep alive the slim chances of making it through but all hopes took a blow after captain Babar Azam called out the wrong side of the coin during the toss. 

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Wearing his disappointment well, Babar, with a smile on his face accepted the fate of his side and said the team will hope to put a good performance. 

“We wanted to bat first as well. But the toss is not in our hands, obviously. We have a good bowling attack. We need to bowl well and get them out as quickly as possible. We have one change. Hasan Ali is not playing, and Shadab Khan comes in,” said Babar. 

“We are looking forward to another Fakhar innings. He has batted beautifully, and everyone has enjoyed his batting in the dressing room. Let us see how it goes,” he added.

Can Pakistan still qualify?

Pakistan can still qualify for the semis but it would take some impossible cricket from both sides to make it happen. 

The current scenarios under which Pakistan can qualify are: 

Restrict England to 20 and chase within 1.3 overs
Restrict England to 50 and chase within 2 overs
Restrict England to 100 and chase within 2.5 overs
Restrict England to 150 and chase within 3.4 overs
Restrict England to 200 and chase within 4.3 overs
Restrict England to 300 and chase within 6.1 overs

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