England ended their disappointing World Cup campaign on a high note with a 93-run victory over Pakistan on Saturday, but it was too little too late to salvage their chances of reaching the semi-finals.
Image of England Cricket Team - Source: IANS
After a series of six defeats in seven matches, England’s World Cup hopes were already dashed, prompting calls for an overhaul of their one-day squad.
Batting first at Eden Gardens, England posted a commanding 337-9, with three of their top-four batters scoring half-centuries. Jonny Bairstow (59), Joe Root (60), and Ben Stokes (84) all made significant contributions, leaving England fans to wonder why they couldn’t replicate this form throughout the tournament.
Pakistan’s chase fell apart early on, and they were eventually bowled out for 244 in the 44th over, confirming their elimination from the tournament after their fifth loss in nine matches.
New Zealand, India, South Africa, and Australia progressed to the semi-finals, while England secured a spot in the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
“Obviously the tournament hasn’t gone to plan for us as a whole, which is a real disappointment,” expressed player-of-the-match David Willey. “We have a phenomenal group of players with massive talent. We have underperformed here, which is disappointing.”
England’s opening pair of Dawid Malan (31) and Jonny Bairstow provided a solid start after captain Jos Buttler opted to bat first.
Following the dismissals of the openers, Root and Stokes steadied the innings, but they struggled to find boundaries consistently.
Pakistan’s fielding was uncharacteristically sloppy, with Shaheen Afridi dropping both Malan and Stokes off his own bowling, while Haris Rauf caught a skyer from Buttler only for his feet to touch the boundary rope, resulting in a six for England.
Set an imposing target of 338, Pakistan faced an absurd scenario, needing to chase down the total in just 6.4 overs to leapfrog New Zealand into the semi-finals.
Willey, playing his last match for England, dismissed both Pakistan openers in his first two overs.
Babar Azam (38) and Mohammad Rizwan (36) made decent starts but failed to convert them into substantial scores.
Agha Salman made 51, and lower down the order, Rauf smacked three sixes in his entertaining knock of 35, but it was too little, too late for Pakistan.
“We will sit together and take stock,” stated Babar, reflecting on Pakistan’s campaign. “We’ll take positives from this and discuss mistakes. I’m keen to lead the rebuild.”
