New Zealand in semifinals ‘for all intents and purposes’; Pakan, Afghanan face improbable tasks | Cricket-world-cup News
New Zealand’s comprehensive win over Sri Lanka has all but confirmed their spot in the semifinals and a repeat of the 2019 match-up when they prevailed over India. The Kiwis ended their league engagements with 10 points, and though both Pakan and Afghanan can match that with wins over England and South Africa respectively, the gap in net run rate (NRR) is almost too much to bridge.
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As things stand, Pakan have an NRR of 0.036 while the corresponding figure for Afghanan is -0.338.
Afghanan beating South Africa, who were blown away India in their last encounter but have already made it to the semifinals, will be a big upset. Pakan beating the defending champions is a plausible outcome, but England do have Champions Trophy qualification to play for.
With the Kiwis reaching the mediocre target of 172 in 23.2 overs for a five-wicket win, after an 86-run opening stand between Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra, the task facing Pakan and Afghanan is an almost unreasonable one.
As Michael Atherton said in commentary, “The job is not done yet, but for all intents and purposes, New Zealand will be the fourth team in the semifinals.”Most Read
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To put it in numbers, New Zealand’s NRR went from +0.398 to +0.743 after the win over Sri Lanka.
As a result, if Pakan bat first and score 300, they have to bowl England out for 13. If Pakan bowl first and dismiss England for 50, they have to chase it in around 2.3 overs.
If that’s improbable, the task for Afghanan will be an impossible one.
