West Indies’ great Brian Lara has backed the United States of America (USA) instead of Pakistan to qualify for the Super 8 of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024.
The Men in Green are relying on the results of other teams after they lost two out of their three games in the group stage of the marque event.
The Babar Azam-led Pakistan faced USA, the co-hosts of the T20 World Cup 2024, in their opening game and were handed a shocking defeat in the super over.
In their second game, Pakistan faced another heartbreak as they failed to chase down the 120-run target set by arch-rivals India in New York on June 9.
However, they kept their hopes alive by defeating Canada on June 11.
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Reacting to the qualification scenarios of the team, Brian Lara said that Pakistan had a chance to qualify for the next round, however, he is backing the USA to join India in the Super 8s from Group A.
“Of course mathematically they (Pakistan) have a chance. I think the USA just got to take care of a win in their last game, they do that and they qualify,” he added.
“But we’re hoping that they get to win plus the USA lose their game. So my money is on the USA, I think they’re full of confidence and they would want to make it to the Super 8 that will be so huge, historic for US cricket,” the former West Indian batter said.
Babar Azam’s men are set to take on Ireland on June 16 in their last group-stage game.
They will not only need to defeat Ireland but also hope that the USA, who are second in Group A standings, lose their game.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super 8 round of the T20 World Cup 2024.
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