‘Pooja bhi karta hun, Jaap bhi karta hun’ – Fans praise Keshav Maharaj as he thanks ‘Lord Hanuman’ after scoring match-winning runs against Pakistan

South Africa left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj became the hero for the team against Pakistan in the ODI WC 2023 with the bat. In the must-win game for the 1992 winners, they needed to win to keep their semis hopes in their own hands. With the ball, Maharaj failed to take a wicket and gave away 56 runs in nine overs.

Meanwhile, with the bat, the Proteas were going well with 235/5 in 36.4 overs. However, from this stage, the team was reduced to 260/9 with 11 runs still to get. However, the right-hander, Maharaj scored seven runs off 21 balls and sustained the pressure from the likes of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Mohammad Wasim Jr. During this stage, Maharaj and last-man-standing Tabraiz Shamsi took the team home with the latter managing to survive.

They managed to take the team to 271 runs to win the game by one wicket. On the other hand, Pakistan’s hopes for the semifinal are not in their hands. Meanwhile, after the game, Maharaj thanked Lord Hanuman for the win.

Pakistan’s scenario for semifinal qualification

For Pakistan to qualify, the following results can prove instrumental:

• New Zealand defeats Australia
• Bangladesh defeats Netherlands
• India defeats England
• Sri Lanka defeats Afghanistan
• Pakistan defeats Bangladesh
• New Zealand defeats South Africa
• India defeats Sri Lanka
• Afghanistan defeats Netherlands
• Pakistan defeats New Zealand
• England defeats Australia
• India defeats South Africa
• Sri Lanka defeats Bangladesh
• Australia defeats Afghanistan
• England defeats Netherlands
• New Zealand defeats Sri Lanka
• South Africa defeats Afghanistan
• Bangladesh defeats Australia
• Pakistan defeats England
• India defeats Netherlands

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