The 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is underway in Australia with the first round of matches. Eight teams are in action in this round, divided into two groups for four each as they slug it out for the four spots of the Super-12 stage that starts from Saturday.
Before the showpiece event kicked-off, one look at the Group A teams and one would be tempted to pick Sri Lanka as the firm favourites to advance with the likes of Netherlands, Namibia and United Arab Emirates being pitted against each other in a three-way fight for the second spot.
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But after four matches of this group, the race is wide open with all four teams still in contention. The tournament had an explosive start with Namibia producing a memorable show to stun former champions Sri Lanka in a dominating show.
However, on Tuesday, Sri Lanka have made a major recovery with a big win while Namibia lost a close contest to Netherlands keeping all possibilities alive.
Remaining Group A Fixtures
October 20
- Sri Lanka vs Netherlands (Geelong)
- Namibia vs United Arab Emirates (Geelong)
The Scenarios
Netherlands – M: 2 | W: 2 | L: 0 | NRR: 0.149 | P: 4
Theoretically, Netherlands are in the pole positions as they have won both their matches. However, they had to scrape through for these victories and hence their net run-rate isn’t quite high. They have one game remaining against Sri Lanka and considering the manner in which they have bounced back added by the past records between these two teams, Netherlands are still not out of the woods. A win would seal the spot but a defeat would mean that UAE must beat Namibia to help them qualify.
Namibia: M: 2 | W: 1 | L: 1 | NRR: 1.277 | P: 2
A big win over Sri Lanka in the world cup opener has given Namibia a superb net run-rate which has ensured their chances remain bright despite a defeat to the Dutch on Tuesday. A win over UAE should be enough for them to make through. But in the event they do lose, Namibia must ensure the margin isn’t wide enough to push their NRR lower than that of Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka – M: 2 | W: 1 | L: 1 | NRR: 0.600 | P: 2
Their confidence must have taken a massive beating after how the game against Namibia transpired but Sri Lanka aren’t a team to mope around. The Asian champions just had an off day and it showed in their performance against UAE as they blew them away to roar back into contention. A victory over Netherlands on Thursday will open the doors but a defeat would switch their collective focus to the final group game between UAE and Namibia. The 2014 champions will want UAE to beat Namibia and it will bring into play the NRR as three teams will be tied on points.
United Arab Emirates: M: 2 | W: 0 | L: 2 | NRR: -2.028 | P: 0
Theirs is the bleakest chance. Not only do they have to hope that Sri Lanka lose to the Netherlands but UAE will then have to beat Namibia by a massive margin to push their net run-rate out of the negative zone and bring them into contention.
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