If India defeats Zimbabwe on Sunday, they will move to the semifinals; Pakistan must defeat Bangladesh and must see at least one of South Africa or India lose.
If India defeats Zimbabwe on Sunday, they will move to the semifinals; Pakistan must defeat Bangladesh and must see at least one of South Africa or India lose.
When the T20 World Cup group matches reach their conclusion on Sunday, Pakistan’s 33-run victory over South Africa on Thursday in Sydney has kept the Super 12 Group 2 semi-final qualification scenarios intriguing.
It is quite unlikely that any of the three games will be postponed given the lack of rain predicted for the doubleheader in Adelaide between Netherlands-South Africa and Bangladesh-Pakistan, as well as the minor likelihood of showers heading into India-Zimbabwe in Melbourne. Here are the requirements for each contestant to advance to the knockout rounds:
India (6 points, plus 0.720 NRR)
The fact that India will play in the final match of the group stage is a benefit. If they defeat Zimbabwe, they will advance. With a margin too small to put their net run-rate over India’s, a loss to Zimbabwe will mean that South Africa should have lost to the Netherlands or Bangladesh should have defeated Pakistan. The NRR of Pakistan is already higher than that of India, so if Zimbabwe loses after South Africa and Pakistan win, India would be eliminated.
Africa (5 points, +1.441 NRR)
South Africa will advance if they defeat the Netherlands; otherwise, they will be eliminated.
Pakistan (four points, +1.117 NRR)
In addition to beating Bangladesh, Pakistan also needs South Africa or at least one of India to lose.
Bangladesh (4 points, NRR -1.276) (4 points, NRR -1.276)
Bangladesh will want South Africa to lose so that they may beat Pakistan with any margin of victory and get to the semifinals. In the event that South Africa triumphs, Bangladesh will need to defeat Pakistan with a sufficient margin to surpass India’s NRR, providing Zimbabwe triumphs. According to reports, Bangladesh’s victory and Bangladesh’s loss must be separated by at least 150 runs.
Zimbabwe (3 points, NRR -0.313) (3 points, NRR -0.313)
The Netherlands must defeat South Africa handily, Bangladesh-Pakistan must be postponed (though Adelaide’s weather forecast for Sunday is clear), and Zimbabwe must humiliate India. With South Africa, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, and Bangladesh each having two victories, this will force a four-way tie for second place on five points, introducing NRR into the mix. Zimbabwe’s NRR may not be sufficient despite all of these miracles, though. Zimbabwe is hence almost eliminated.
Netherlands (2 points, NRR -1.233) (2 points, NRR -1.233)
The Netherlands are already out of the running.
What does Pakistan’s victory over South Africa mean for India and the other teams in Group 2 in the T20 World Cup semifinal race?
