At this point in the ongoing World Cup being held in India, only a miracle can help Pakistan secure a semi-final spot. It would have to defeat the already-eliminated England by an outstanding run rate to leapfrog New Zealand. Pressure continues to mount higher and higher with the ticking clock as Men in Green need to step into the field with a bat and win by 287 runs or more. The ground then would be paved for a nail-biting clash between historic archrivals. While critics have already proclaimed this to be non-affair, Skipper Babar Azam refuses to surrender his World Cup dreams. Calling out the ease of pundits giving advice on television screens, he noted that he was still standing tall in the fight. Failure to live up to these claims would spark a long line of discomforting questions over Azam’s captaincy. Shouldering the burden of four defeats including a shocking loss to Afghanistan and a shattering one-wicket defeat to South Africa is no small feat, especially in a game whose aficionados have a memory of a goldfish. Once lording over millions as the maestro of modern cricket, especially due to his expertise in creating and shattering his own records, he is now being demanded to show credentials to defend his captaincy. It has been repeatedly said that Pakistan’s stint in the coveted tournaments hangs in balance because of gross failures on all fronts. Between an imbalanced bowling lineup, injuries to star players, and the inability of batsmen to score boundaries, the Shaheens already had enough on their plate even before dirty propaganda and management woes decided to add to the fire. The team may have defied expectations in their most recent game, thanks to Fakhar Zaman, who hit 126 not out off 81 balls and led his team to a thumping defeat against New Zealand, good fortune rarely strikes twice! *