India have already sealed their place in the World Cup 2023 semifinals, while Afghanistan cemented their hopes of reaching the top four with a massive win over the Netherlands. Skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi and Rahmat Shah slammed fifties as the Afghans sealed a 7-wicket win in Lucknow.
Afghanistan bowlers earlier dominated the proceedings by dismissing the Netherlands for a total of 179 runs, after which riding on performances from Shahidi and Shah, the Afghans cruised through, chasing the 180-run total in 32 overs.
The win helped Afghanistan leapfrog Pakistan and jump to fifth place in the World Cup points table after their fourth win in the tournament. India have already booked their berth in the semifinals, here’s what the remaining teams need to do to secure their place in the remaining semifinal berths.
ICC World Cup: Schedule | Results | Points Table | Most Runs | Most Wickets
Here’s a look at the semi-final qualification scenarios for all the teams:
India
India are already through into the World Cup semifinals.
South Africa
The Proteas are well-placed to reach the semifinals, and they need to win one of their remaining two matches against India and Afghanistan to book their semifinal ticket.
Australia
The five-time World Cup holders have three matches remaining, and they will hope to win all those three games against England, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Australia have 8 points on the board and will have to ensure atleast two wins, anything less than that, the Net Run Rate will come into play to decide semifinal spots.
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New Zealand
Level on points with Australia, the Kiwis have lost three games in a row and will face Pakistan, and Sri Lanka next. The game against Pakistan in Bengaluru on November 4 will be a virtual semifinal and considering Sri Lanka’s form, the Kiwis will be favourites to seal a knockout berth if they can fend off the challenge from Babar Azam and Co.
Afghanistan
After beating Netherlands, the Afghans pipped Pakistan into fifth place drawing level with the likes of New Zealand and Australia. Hashmatullah Shahidi and Co. will face Australia and South Africa next which will decide if they can cause an upset and find a place in the semifinals. They will need to win both games, or things could get tricky.
Pakistan
Despite the win over Bangladesh, Pakistan only have 6 points on the board and they can reach a maximum of 10 points which may not be enough to secure a place in the semifinals. Babar and Co. will have to win their remaining games against New Zealand and England but hope that fellow top-four hopefuls Australia and Afghanistan drop points in their remaining matches.
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Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka suffered a massive 302-run defeat to India but mathematically they can still make it into the semifinals. The Lankan Lions can reach a maximum of 8 points by winning their remaining two games against Bangladesh and New Zealand. Kusal Mendis and Co. will hope that Pakistan, Australia and Afghanistan lose their remaining games for the Islanders to still have a chance for reaching the top four.
Netherlands
The Dutch fought valiantly but they are stuck on 4 points after their loss to Afghanistan. Mathematically, they can also qualify for the semifinals, but similar to Sri Lanka, they will hope the other teams in contention lose their remaining games, and goes without saying, the Netherlands will have to win their remaining games by a big margin against India and England.
Bangladesh
The Bangla Tigers cannot qualify for the semifinals but they will hope to fight to finish in the top 7 to secure a place in the Champions Trophy.
England
The defending champions have three games remaining, they will have to win all of their remaining matches against the likes of the Netherlands, Australia and Pakistan, and hope that the likes of New Zealand and others drop points.
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