Pakistan are remaining positive ahead of their crunch ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 match with Bangladesh at Lord's on Friday, despite knowing the coin toss could end their chances before the first delivery.
New Zealand sit fourth in the group table, but Pakistan could draw level on 11 points with a win at Lord's. However, to qualify for the semi-finals they would also need to win by 300-plus runs, a margin that has never been achieved before in ODI (One-Day International) history.
Pakistani skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed though said the team was optimistic and would be trying to score 500 runs on Friday.
“We will give it our best but we have to be realistic. If we make 500 or 400 runs, we can surely hope that the opposition team can get out on 50. We will try our best. It is not a hidden fact that we have to make 500-550 runs and win by a margin of 316 runs. We have to be realistic but we will try out best.”Sarfaraz Ahmed, Captain - Pakistan
Pakistan’s chances, however, could end at the toss as well. Should Bangladesh win the toss and elect to bat, Pakistan's chances of radically improving their run-rate will be dramatically limited and therefore not allow them to leapfrog New Zealand to the fourth spot.
Bangladesh coach Steve Rhodes wasn't giving anything away.
"I won't be telling you what we're going to do at the toss or how we approach the game," Rhodes said. "All I will be saying is there's a game to win for Bangladesh, and that's the important thing for us."
Former Pakistan test cricketers Ramiz Raja and Shoaib Akhtar were vocal in criticizing their team's performance in the World Cup and held out little hope for Friday's game.
"It's like telling an individual that you have to climb Mount Everest without an oxygen mask. It's that much of a Herculean task," former Pakistan captain and TV commentator Raja said on his YouTube channel, adding "whether they (Pakistan) win or lose it doesn't matter."
He called for changes after the tournament, saying: "We have to find batsmen, we have to find allrounders. That's the way you can make your future team."
Akhtar was disappointed with the quality of cricket displayed by Pakistan.
"The mess was created by Pakistan themselves," he said, "the way we lost heavily to West Indies in the first match, then rain washed out the game against Sri Lanka which was unfortunate."
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