BENGALURU, India: Pakistan won the toss and elected to field first against New Zealand in a must-win match of the ICC World Cup 2023 today as the winner between them will become a strong contender to qualify for the semi-final.
Pakistan suffered four humiliating defeats against India, Afghanistan, Australia, and South Africa. However, they got some hope by beating Bangladesh by seven wickets in their last match in Kolkata.
On the other hand, New Zealand, despite having four out of four wins at one point, suffered three consecutive defeats against India, Australia and South Africa.
A defeat to either side today would seriously dim their chances of playing the semi-final, especially Pakistan since they are not just behind in net run rate (NRR) but now also have to rely on Afghanistan’s matches after they secured a significant win against the Netherlands on Friday.
