COLOMBO, FEB 18: Pakistan on Wednesday are off to a stable start after winning the toss and elected to bat first against Namibia in their last group stage match being played at the SSC Cricket Ground in Sri Lanka’s Colombo.

Although Saim Ayub (14) and Sahibzada Farhan provided a rather stable start, the former departed after being caught behind. With captain Salman Ali Agha and Farhan on the crease, the score stands at 52-1 in seven overs.

After a series-breaking defeat against India, Pakistan will look to bounce back and secure a win to qualify for the Super Eights stage. They began their T20 World Cup campaign strongly, defeating the Netherlands and USA, but suffered a setback against India.

The national side will proceed to the next stage even if the match is washed out due to rain. However, if they lose, they’ll be eliminated from the tournament.

Currently, Pakistan are ranked third with four points in Group A after winning two matches and losing one against India. Whereas Namibia are ranked fifth due after losing all three matches that they’ve played.

Namibia, meanwhile, aim to finish their T20 World Cup campaign on a high note after consecutive defeats against the Netherlands, USA, and India.

Historically, Pakistan and Namibia have faced each other once in the T20I format, with the Green Shirts claiming the only victory.

Playing XIs
Pakistan: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (c), Babar Azam, Usman Khan (wk), Khawaja Nafay, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Salman Mirza and Usman Tariq.

Namibia: Louren Steenkamp, Jan Frylinck, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Gerhard Erasmus (c), Alexander Volschenk, JJ Smit, Zane Green (wk), Ruben Trumpelmann, Willem Myburgh, Bernard Scholtz and Jack Brassell.