Pakistan beat Bangladesh by 94 runs but out of semifinal race
London: 'Mission impossible' remained unaccomplished for Pakistan, who expectedly missed the semifinal bus but wrapped up their World Cup campaign with a consolatory 94-run win over Bangladesh, here Friday.
Aware that the situation demanded them to beat Bangladesh by 300-plus runs to make it to the knockout stage, Pakistan needed to put on board a total of no less than 450 to stand a chance.
The way Pakistan batted, it seemed the 1992 champions were resigned to the fact that such a mammoth victory would remain out of their reach and it was business as usual for them.
All they could manage was 315 for nine after electing to bat, courtesy Imam-ul-Haq (100) and Babar Azam (96), who added 157 runs for the second wicket.
They bowled out Bangladesh for 221 in 44.1 overs to record their fourth win on the trot since suffering defeat at the hands of arch-rivals India.
Friday's result means that New Zealand have joined India, Australia and hosts England in the knockout stage.
Pakistan (-0.525) finished at number five in the table with 11 points, tied with New Zealand (0.175), but were beaten on Net-Run-Rate by the Kiwis.
Bangladesh ended at number seven with as many points.
Shakib Al Hasan's incredible run at this World Cup culminated with a 64-run knock. He totalled 606 runs with an average of 86.57.
The world number one all-rounder kept Bangladesh interested in the contest but did not get support from his colleagues. Saumya Sarkar (22), Mushfiqur Rahim (16) and Liton Das (32) got starts but could not convert them into impact innings.
Once Shakib was dismissed by left-arm pacer Shahin Afridi, it was over for the 2015 quarterfinalists. Afridi returned career-best figures of six for 35, while leg-spinner Shadab Khan took two wickets.
Earlier, Imam, aged 23, became the youngest Pakistani to score a hundred in a World Cup game but Azam missed out on his second century in the tournament by just four runs.
Imad Wasim's quick-fire 26-ball 43 took Pakistan past 300. The intent to get that improbable total was missing in opener Fakhar Zaman as he took 31 balls to score his 13.
Imam and Babar too batted in their usual fashion, showing no urgency to get quick runs. Their partnership was broken when Mohammad Saifuddin trapped Azam with a dipping yorker. Azam's knock came off 98 balls, with 11 shots to the fence.
The bespectacled left-handed Imam was joined at the crease by the seasoned Mohammad Hafeez (27) and they raised a 66-run stand for the third wicket.
Imam completed his seventh ODI hundred with a single off left-arm Mustafizur Rahman in the 42nd over of the innings but was soon out hit-wicket.
Hafeez swept a spinner straight to a fielder in the deep. Had it not been for Wasim's knock, Pakistan would have struggled to reach 300.
Since their defeat against arch-rivals India, Pakistan have recorded three wins on the trot. They can wrap up their campaign on a high with a win.
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'Don't trust anybody before marriage': SC advises caution in pre-marital physical relationship
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday said a boy and a girl before marriage are "total strangers" and they should be cautious while indulging in pre-marital physical relationships.
A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan, which was hearing the bail plea of a man accused of rape on a false promise of marriage, questioned the woman why she travelled all the way to Dubai where they indulged in physical relationship.
"It's consensual. We may be old-fashioned but a boy and girl before marriage are total strangers. They should be circumspect in indulging in physical relationships before marriage," the bench observed.
"Whatever may be the thick and thin of their relationship, we fail to understand how they can be indulging in physical relationship before marriage. Maybe we are old- fashioned but you must be very careful, nobody should believe anybody before marriage," Justice Nagarathna said.
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Counsel for the woman said they met on a matrimonial website in 2022 and he allegedly established physical relations with her on a false promise of marriage on multiple occasions in Delhi and later in Dubai.
Justice Nagarathna questioned the woman about what was the need for her to travel to Dubai and observed that it appears to be a case of consensual relationship.
"She should not have gone before marriage if she was so strict about it. We will send them to mediation. These are not cases which are to be tried and convicted when there is consensual relationship," she said.
Justice Nagarathna asked the counsel for the man to pay some compensation to her and be done with it.
The bench also asked the woman’s counsel to explore the possibility of settlement and posted the matter for hearing on Wednesday to see the views of both the parties. The woman has claimed in her complaint that on his insistence, she travelled to Dubai where he allegedly established physical relations with her on false pretext of marriage and recorded intimate videos without her consent, threatening to circulate them if she resisted.
The woman said that later she learnt that he had married a second woman in January, 2024 in Punjab.
The Delhi High Court and the trial court had dismissed the bail application of the man.
The high court rejected bail, saying the allegations prima facie indicate that the promise of marriage was false from inception, particularly as the petitioner was already married and had married again on January 19, 2024.
Aggrieved by the high court's order, the man approached the top court for bail in the case.
