World Cup: Why Afghanan’s win makes New Zealand-Pakan game more significant in the semifinals race | Cricket-world-cup News
Afghanan’s facile win over the Netherlands gave another boost to their dreams of making the semifinals. They now sit in the fifth spot on the points table and are out of the top four for now just on the basis of net run rate (NRR). Their fate is in their own hands, though their remaining two games are against Australia and South Africa, who are in the top three at the moment.
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The Dutch remain on four points with games against England and India to come. Even if they win both their games and Afghanan lose their last two fixtures, the wide disparity in NRR may be too much to overcome, especially as there are several other teams better placed on the points table than them.
Afghanan’s win makes Saturday’s day game between New Zealand and Pakan all the more significant, especially for the latter who now find themselves below Afghanan. A win for the Kiwis will not only end a three-game losing streak but also give a big fillip to their semifinal hopes, putting the onus on Afghanan to win at least one of their two matches coming up.Most Read
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If Babar Azam’s men don’t get a positive result in Bengaluru, their fate may be sealed even before their final league fixture against England in Kolkata, if Australia get the better of the defending champions in the day-night fixture in Ahmedabad on Saturday. In that case, both Australia and New Zealand will get to 10 points, a mark Pakan won’t be able to reach. That will also, finally, mathematically eliminate the holders from contention.
Sri Lanka are still officially not out of the reckoning, but need to win both their matches – against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka – and hope for the best. However, their NRR has taken a big hit after their 302-run thrashing at the hands of India.
It seems difficult for the bottom four teams to have a realic chance of making the semifinals. But their remaining games are not devoid of significance as the top seven teams on the final points table, along with hosts Pakan, will qualify for the 2025 Champions Trophy. At present, England and Bangladesh find themselves outside the top eight and need some points desperately from their remaining fixtures to avoid missing out on a major ICC tournament. The Dutch are eighth at the moment and a win, or two, in their last two games may get them into the elite field at the expense of more fancied sides.
