T20 World Cup: Pakistan beats Canada by 7 wickets

NEW YORK: After back-to-back losses that pushed its campaign to the brink, Pakistan earned a 7–wicket win over Canada in the World T20 here on Tuesday. After restricting Canada to 106 for seven, Pakistan chased down the target in 17.3 overs with Mohammad Rizwan scoring an unbeaten 53, while captain Babar Azam scored 33.

Earlier, Aaron Johnson’s 52 was the only bright spot for Canada as it posted 106/7. On a two-paced wicket with the occasional uneven bounce making the rest of their batters struggle, Johnson waged a lone battle for Canada with a 44-ball 52, studded with four sixes and as many fours even as the Pakistan bowlers kept chipping away with wickets.

While Mohammad Amir was the pick among the bowlers with 4-0-13-2, Haris Rauf returned 2/26 while Shaheen Shah Afridi (1/21) and Naseem Shah (1/24) recovered well after wayward starts.

Brief scores: Canada 106/7 in 20 overs (A Johnson 52) lost to Pakistan 107/3 in 17.3 overs (Md. Rizwan 53*)