Alex Borg and Duncan Bezzina kept alive their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals of the Snooker World Cup when they beat Pakistan 3-2 in a Group C match in Wuxi, China, yesterday.

After Tuesday’s 4-1 defeat to Group C leaders England, Borg and Bezzina had no option but to win yesterday’s match against Pakistan duo Shahram Changezi and Hamza Akbar to remain in contention for a top-two finish and a berth in the last eight.

The Maltese pair won the opening singles matches and the doubles rubber to race into a three-frame lead.

However, the Pakistani fought back to win the last two frames of the day and chalk up two useful points which could come handy later in the group stage.

England, who yesterday coasted to a 4-1 win over Iran, are just one frame away from reaching the last eight as they lead the way on 13 points.

Australia thumped Switzerland 4-1 to move up to second in the standings on 10 points, three clear of Iran and Malta.

Today, Malta must beat the Swiss to gain some ground on Australia and Iran, who face each other this morning, before tomorrow’s decisive clash against Iran.

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