Mohammad Rizwan and captain Babar Azam starred as Pakistan stayed alive at the T20 World Cup with a seven-wicket win over Canada on Tuesday. Knowing that defeat would mean a shock first-round exit, Rizwan and Babar's match-winning second-wicket partnership of 63 runs helped Pakistan reach their target of 107 with 15 balls to spare.

Opener Rizwan remained undefeated on 53 off 53 balls, including two fours and a six, marking his 29th T20 international half-century. Babar contributed 33 off 33 balls with one four and a six.

This victory was crucial after Pakistan, the 2009 champions and 2022 runners-up, had lost their first two Group A fixtures. They suffered a stunning super-over defeat to the United States and a six-run loss to rivals India, where they failed to chase down a modest 120-run target.

Tuesday's win at Nassau County International Stadium, where they had lost to India, may still not be enough to secure a place in the Super Eights. Pakistan now have two points with one game left, while India and the United States both have four points from two wins each and remain favorites to progress.

Despite the loss, Canada, with two points from three games, still have a chance for a Super Eights spot. Dilon Heyliger took two of Pakistan's wickets, dismissing recalled opener Saim Ayub for six and claiming the prized wicket of Babar, both caught behind.

Earlier, Pakistan restricted Canada to 106-7 despite opener Aaron Johnson hitting his sixth international fifty. Johnson started aggressively, hitting successive boundaries off Shaheen Shah Afridi's first two balls. He scored 52 off 44 balls with four boundaries and four sixes before being bowled by Naseem Shah in the 14th over, with the score at 73-6.

Johnson was the only batsman in the top six to reach double figures, as Pakistan's seamers regularly took wickets. Mohammad Amir clean-bowled Navneet Dhaliwal for four with a 141 km/h delivery, Shaheen recovered from conceding 10 runs in his first over to dismiss Pargat Singh for two, and Nicholas Kirton was run out by a superb throw from Imad Wasim.

Haris Rauf dismissed Shreyas Movva (two) and Ravinderpal Singh (nought) in the space of three balls, leaving Canada at 55-5 after 10 overs. Once Johnson was out, Canada struggled to accelerate, adding just 14 runs off 20 balls before skipper Saad Bin Zafar (10) top-edged Amir to Rizwan behind the stumps.

Amir finished with 2-13, while Rauf claimed 2-26.