KOLKATA, Nov 11, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and opted to bat in Kolkata on Saturday, leaving Pakistan virtually out of the semi-final race at the World Cup.

Pakistan needed to beat England by 287 runs had they batted first in order to go ahead of New Zealand on net run-rate, but their task in chasing is almost unachievable.

England kept the same team that beat the Netherlands by 160 runs in Pune three days ago while Pakistan brought in Shadab Khan, who has recovered from concussion, to replace Hasan Ali.

In the semi-finals, New Zealand are now set to face India while Australia take on New Zealand.

Teams:

England: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (capt/wkt), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Gus Atkinson, Adil Rashid

Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan (wkt), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Agha Salman, Mohammad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf

Umpires: Paul Wilson (AUS) and Rod Tucker (AUS)

TV umpire: Sharfuddoula (BAN)

Match referee: Javagal Srinath (IND)