Described: How Pakistan surprisingly advanced to the T20 World Cup semifinals against all odds.

The inconceivable has been done by Pakistan. Against all odds, Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by five wickets at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday to unexpectedly advance to the quarterfinals of the current T20 World Cup 2022. Mohammad Rizwan scored 32 runs off of 32 balls to help Pakistan reach 128 for five in 18.1 overs while chasing a 128-run mark. Earlier, bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi claimed four wickets as Bangladesh reached 127 for 8 in 20 overs. Najmul Hossain Shanto led Bangladesh in scoring with a half-century (54 off 48 balls), but Pakistan easily chased it down to go to the last four of the virtual knockout.

How did it first make it to the virtual knockout? They were eliminated after losses to India and a shocking upset against Zimbabwe, and their chances of reaching the semifinals hung in the balance. However, a bizarre turn of events saw them come back valiantly, and along with a few other results going their way, they advanced to the semifinals, where they will probably face New Zealand on Wednesday.

Here is how their circumstances evolved. Pakistan’s T20 World Cup campaign didn’t get off to the greatest of beginnings as they lost to England in one of their exhibition games while the other was canceled. Pakistan was anticipated to play better when the Super 12 Stage started, however in their first encounter, they were defeated by India by four wickets. India, chasing a goal of 160 runs, scored 160 for six in 20 overs thanks to an unbroken 82 runs off 53 balls from Virat Kohli. Mohammad Nawaz and Haris Rauf both claimed two wickets at this time. At first, Pakistan scored 159 for eight in 20 overs thanks to Shan Masood’s unbeaten 52 from 42 deliveries.

As a result of losing to Zimbabwe in their subsequent match, Pakistan’s campaign took a turn for the worst. Sikandar Raza’s all-around performance gave Zimbabwe a one-run victory against Pakistan, who failed to successfully chase down a modest mark of 131. After Pakistan’s defeat against Zimbabwe, it seemed like the team would be eliminated from the competition early.

India, which was playing well, fell to South Africa, which gave them optimism. Pakistan faced a wide range of permutations and combinations, but they had to deal with each one separately. They easily overcame their first challenge, which was defeating the Netherlands. Pakistan achieved 95 for four in 13.5 overs, chasing a 92-run target, with Mohammad Rizwan scoring the most with a knock of 49 runs off 39 balls. At first, Shadab Khan’s three wickets helped to limit the Dutch to 91 for nine in 20 overs since he was in terrific form at the time. After averting a second shock, Pakistan moved on to a scorching South Africa, which was getting ever closer to the semifinals.

Pakistan faced South Africa, whom they defeated when the Proteas committed hara-kiri, after easily defeating the Dutch to prevent a second shock. Pakistan defeated South Africa by a score of 33 runs (DLS method) to reclaim a semifinal spot. Pakistan’s pursuit of 142 was aided by Shadab Khan’s two-wicket haul, which held South Africa to 108 for 9 in 14 runs (DLS target). At first, Pakistan scored 185 for nine in 20 overs, with Shadab demonstrating his exceptional batting skills. In addition to smashing three fours and four maximums, he scored 52 runs off of only 22 balls. Pakistan was currently 4 of 4 from 0 points from 2 games.

The victory against South Africa opened up Group 2 and propelled Pakistan to third place in the rankings. Before Sunday, Pakistan needed both Bangladesh to lose and for either India or South Africa to lose their respective games. The Proteas suffered a shocking setback against the Netherlands, losing by 13 runs, and were eliminated as a result. When Pakistan discovered one of the greatest shocks in cricket history, their match against Bangladesh became almost a quarterfinal. Bangladesh was easily defeated by Babar’s team, who guided them to victory by five wickets.