Pakistan defeats Canada, earns much-needed 1st win at cricket T20 World Cup

Pakistan defeated Canada by seven wickets Tuesday to preserve its slender hope of moving on at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

Chasing a victory target of 107, sixth-ranked Pakistan chipped away with ones and twos before an announced crowd of 16,328 at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in suburban New York.

Usman Khan's two-run shot off Jeremy Gordon with 15 balls remaining carried Pakistan to victory at 107 for three. Opener Mohammad Rizwan led Pakistan at 53 not out, with two fours and one six in his 53-ball innings, while captain Babar Azam added 33.

Opener Aaron Johnson led the Canadian batting attack with 52 runs.

Only the top two in each of the tournament's four pools advance to the Super-8 stage.

The Pakistanis (1-2) still need to beat No. 11 Ireland (0-2), improve its run rate and hope the 18th-ranked United States (2-0) loses its remaining two matches to achieve its goal of moving on. Top-ranked India (2-0) and the U.S. meet Wednesday with the winner assured of advancing and the loser still in a good position to join them.

Pakistan are on the board after beating Canada, with a slight improvement in net run-rate.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvCAN?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvCAN</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/T20WorldCup?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#T20WorldCup</a> <a href="https://t.co/cbk46zDFfM">pic.twitter.com/cbk46zDFfM</a>

The 23rd-ranked Canadians (1-2), who wrap up Group A play against India on Saturday, are destined for an early exit. They sit fourth in Group A, ahead of only Ireland.

Canada finished at 106 for seven in its 20 overs, with Johnson leading the way after Pakistan won the toss and elected to field. Twenty-one of the Canadian runs came from the