Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag weighed in on Pakistan's seven-wicket victory against Bangladesh saying that it was not a statement as it came against a side that was not playing well.
Fakhar Zaman was the Player of the Match for his heroics against the Tigers as the left-handed batter made an excellent comeback after sitting on the bench for five matches. He scored 81 runs with the help of seven sixes.
"I wouldn't call that a statement against Bangladesh, they are already playing badly, what statement would give against them?" Sehwag said while speaking to Cricbuzz.
"Yes but what they did well tonight was chasing down the target in 32 overs which will improve their net run rate (NRR) to an extent, it can help if [after round matches] a team has less NRR than Pakistan, it would help them [to qualify]," he added.
Sehwag then stated that Pakistan can still qualify for the World Cup as one of their remaining two matches is against the struggling English side who have only won one match, against Bangladesh in the early stages of the tournament.
"We are assuming that Pakistan may not qualify for the semi-final, but they have to play two matches, one in Bengaluru and one in here [Kolkata]. Here they will play England who are playing badly as well. And in Bengaluru, they will play New Zealand, if they win [both matches], it can increase chances [of finishing in the top 4] because teams above Pakistan can lose their matches as well.
"It is a great start, Pakistan should think that their World Cup started from today, they should focus entirely on their next two matches, win them and see what happens," he added.
Pakistan’s remaining ICC World Cup 2023 matches
November 4 - vs New Zealand Bengaluru (Day match)
November 11 - vs England in Kolkata
- Virender Sehwag