{"id":2894,"date":"2026-02-18T02:05:43","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T02:05:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/?p=2894"},"modified":"2026-02-18T02:05:43","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T02:05:43","slug":"128469947-cms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/?p=2894","title":{"rendered":"Why today&#8217;s match could define Pakistan\u2019s T20 World Cup fate | Cricket News &#8211; The Times of India"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"MwN2O\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"T22zO\">\n<section class=\"D3Wk1  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  VtlfQ\" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"D3Wk1\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"zPaFh\">\n<div class=\"wJnIp\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-128470245,imgsize-187718,width-400,resizemode-4\/pakistan-cricket-team.jpg\" alt=\"Why today's match could define Pakistan\u2019s T20 World Cup fate\" title=\"Pakistan cricket team (AP\/PTI)\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"cj2hz img_cptn\"><span title=\"Pakistan cricket team (AP\/PTI)\">Pakistan cricket team (AP\/PTI)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Pakistan\u2019s T20 World Cup campaign has reached a critical juncture. A win against Namibia in their final league fixture on Wednesday is non-negotiable if Salman Agha\u2019s men are to keep their Super 8 hopes alive.<!-- --> Anything less, and their tournament ends prematurely.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"3\"\/>The pressure has mounted quickly. After bold claims that this was a stronger outfit than the one that faltered against India in the Asia Cup, Pakistan suffered a familiar 61-run defeat on Sunday. While their clashes with India in the 2022 and 2024 T20 World Cups were tight, they still fell short. Since the Asia Cup, India have now registered four comfortable wins on the trot, reinforcing Pakistan\u2019s struggles in marquee encounters.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"7\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"lOvcW vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"k7lcu\">\n<p>What will Team India do today in Ahmedabad? Practice timing, Playing XI, press conference and more<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"9\"\/>Scrutiny has intensified around senior players <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/topic\/babar-azam\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\">Babar Azam<\/a> and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/topic\/shaheen-afridi\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\">Shaheen Afridi<\/a>. Shaheen failed to control the game in the PowerPlay or at the death, returning figures of 1 for 31 in two overs. Babar\u2019s issues against spin continue to surface \u2014 his strike-rate against spin since returning to the T20I side stands at 101.70 \u2014 raising questions about balance and intent in the middle order.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"15\"\/>Selection dilemmas loom. Salman Mirza and Fakhar Zaman are in contention should the management opt for changes. Pakistan\u2019s heavy reliance on spin \u2014 13, 16 and 18 overs across three games \u2014 also reflects a side still searching for the right combination.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"19\"\/>Namibia, though eliminated, are not without motivation. With the 2027 ODI World Cup on the horizon as co-hosts, they are keen to gather momentum. <span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"21\"\/>For Pakistan, though, the equation is simple: win or go home.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"23\"\/>In the other fixture, India face the Netherlands in the night game. Having already secured qualification for the Super 8s with three wins from three matches, India will view this contest as an opportunity to fine-tune combinations and tick a few remaining boxes.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"26\"\/><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/topic\/abhishek-sharma\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\">Abhishek Sharma<\/a> is yet to get going in this T20 World Cup, and the team management will be keen for their No. 1 batter to spend valuable time at the crease ahead of the knockout stage. Getting runs under his belt could prove crucial in the business end of the tournament.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"29\"\/>There could also be changes in the bowling department. <!-- -->Kuldeep Yadav<!-- --> might make way for <!-- -->Arshdeep Singh<!-- -->, who was included as an extra spinner against Pakistan. With qualification already secured, India may use this match to test their bench strength and settle on the most balanced XI for the Super 8s.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"35\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Today T20 World Cup matches \u2013 Tuesday, 18 February<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"cdatainfo   id-r-component \" data-pos=\"37\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Match<\/th>\n<th>Fixture<\/th>\n<th>Venue<\/th>\n<th>Time (IST)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Match 1<\/td>\n<td>South Africa vs USA<\/td>\n<td>Delhi<\/td>\n<td>11:00 AM<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Match 2<\/td>\n<td>Pakistan vs Namibia<\/td>\n<td>Colombo<\/td>\n<td>3:00 PM<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Match 3<\/td>\n<td>India vs Netherlands<\/td>\n<td>Ahmedabad<\/td>\n<td>7:00 PM<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/sports\/cricket\/icc-mens-t20-world-cup\/why-todays-match-could-define-pakistans-t20-world-cup-fate\/articleshow\/128469947.cms\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pakistan cricket team (AP\/PTI) Pakistan\u2019s T20 World Cup campaign has reached a critical juncture. A&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2895,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[696,1504,3199,1900,7097,8235,1124,6926,7391],"class_list":["post-2894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-abhishek-sharma","tag-arshdeep-singh","tag-babar-azam","tag-india-t20-world-cup","tag-kuldeep-yadav","tag-namibia-t20-world-cup","tag-pakistan-t20-world-cup","tag-shaheen-afridi","tag-super-8-qualification"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2894\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}