Pakistan made a sensational comeback as they pulled off 160 runs in 21.3 overs while chasing a mammoth 402-run target against New Zealand in the 35th match of the World Cup 2023 on Saturday, November 4. Rain interrupted the game again when Pakistan needed 242 runs in 28.3 overs at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Babar Azam-led side remain 10 runs ahead if the DLS comes into play and they will be declared winners if rains washes the remaining overs. Pakistan lost Abdullah Shafique in the second over but an explosive 154-run* stand between Babar and Fakhar Zaman put Pakistan in control of the rain-hit game. The officials have announced a cut-off time will be 7:00 PM IST and overs are getting reduced.
Pakistan needed to go past 142 runs in 20 overs with one wicket down in the projected DLS targets. With 160 runs in 21.3 overs, they are comfortably ahead in the projections and will walk away with two valuable points from the game.
DLS targets for Pakistan:
| Overs |
Pakistan's DLS Target (with 1 wicket down) |
| 20 |
142 |
| 25 |
173 |
| 30 |
206 |
| 35 |
243 |
| 40 |
286 |
Meanwhile, a brilliant hundred from Rachin Ravindra and 95 runs from Kane Williamson boosted New Zealand to their highest total in the ODI World Cup history. The world no.1 ODI bowler Shaheen Afridi failed to pick any wicket and conceded 90 runs from his 10 overs. The young pacer Mohammad Wasim made an impressive impact with three wickets for 60 but it was not enough to restrict the Kiwis from scoring 400-plus total.
New Zealand Playing XI: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson (c), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Trent Boult
Pakistan Playing XI: Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Iftikhar Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Agha Salman, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Haris Rauf
