ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: Another blow for Pakistan as they try to stay in the race for semi-finals

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Pakistan's struggling ICC Men's Cricket World Cup journey faces another setback as they strive to secure a spot in the semi-finals.

The Pakistani team has been penalised for a slow over-rate during their recent match against South Africa. They were found to be four overs behind the allotted pace while South Africa was batting in Chennai on Friday (October 28).

Pakistan Cricket Team Penalised

Consequently, they have been fined 20 percent of their match fee, in accordance with the ICC Code of Conduct, which stipulates that players will incur a five percent match fee penalty for each over not bowled within the prescribed timeframe.

The charge was issued by on-field umpires Alex Wharf and Paul Reiffel, with support from third umpire Richard Illingworth and fourth umpire Richard Kettleborough, following Pakistan's loss to South Africa. Pakistan's captain, Babar Azam, accepted the sanction.

Pakistan's performance in this year's World Cup has yielded just two wins out of six matches. To keep their hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive, the 1992 champions must now secure victories in their remaining three matches.

Pakistan Cricket Team's upcoming fixture is set for Tuesday (October 31) at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, where they will face Bangladesh in what is undeniably a must-win contest for the Pakistani team.

The Men in Green have lost four games on the trot after winning the first couple of games in the ten-team competition. After winning their opening games against Netherlands and Sri Lanka, Pakistan met India in Ahmedabad where their winning streak was halted.

Captain Babar and his band seemed to have lost momentum following defeat against arch-rivals India. They lost to Afghanistan and Australia in one-sided contests while the match against South Africa ended in a slender one-wicket defeat.