The 2022 T20 World Cup is moving towards its business end but interestingly we are yet to know our three semifinalists yet. New Zealand are the only team who have sealed a place in the last four while Australia and England are in contention from the same group to finish second after the Super 12 stage. The situation is quite clear in Group 1 as England have to beat Sri Lanka to enter the semis as they have a superior NRR to Australia who will rely on the reigning Asia Cup champions to pull off a win for them on Saturday at Sydney Cricket Ground.
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Meanwhile, none of the teams have qualified for the semifinals from Group 2 and still, five teams are in contention to make it to the last four. India and South Africa are the favourites to finish the top two on the table, while Pakistan still have a chance to make it through but they have to rely on other teams’ results. However, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe are also in the race mathematically, so it will be a massive task for them but at the same time, they have to keep a tack on other teams’ results.
Here, we take a look at the five teams that can and might make it to the semifinals from Group 2.
India: Played: 4, Points: 6, NRR: +0.730, Last Match: vs Zimbabwe – A win in their last match of the Super 12 stage will ensure them a place in the semifinal as only they have a chance to collect 8 points. They lost only one match in the tournament so far – against South Africa and hold the top spot on Group 1 points table. They will face Zimbabwe who have already produced an upset in the tournament by beating Pakistan. However, even a defeat will not knock India out of the race but then they have to rely on other teams’ results to make it to the semifinals. In case the match ends in a draw due to rain, India will automatically enter the semifinals with 7 points.
South Africa: Played: 4, Points: 5, NRR: +1.441, Last Match: vs Netherlands – The Proteas also have the same case as a win over the Dutch team will ensure them a place in the semifinals. They have the best NRR in their group at the moment but the drawn match against Zimbabwe will come back to haunt them if the Netherlands managed to produce an upset on Sunday. A defeat will force South Africa out of the tournament.
Pakistan: Played: 4, Points: 4, NRR: +1.117, Last match: vs Bangladesh – Babar Azam and Co. entered the tournament as one of the favourites but the close defeats to India and Zimbabwe derailed their campaign. They have managed to bounce back in the last couple of matches but still their fate is not in their hands. They have to beat Bangladesh at any cost to keep their hopes alive but at the same time, they have to pray for South Africa or India to lose their match against low-ranked teams. Meanwhile, a loss against Bangladesh will knock them out of the tournament.
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Bangladesh: Played: 4, Points: 4, NRR: -1.276, Last match: vs Pakistan – Bangladesh’s fate is also not in their hands here as they have to beat Pakistan first that too with a healthy margin and they rely on Zimbabwe and Netherlands to produce upsets against India and South Africa. A loss will automatically end their stay in the competition.
Zimbabwe: Played: 4, Points: 3, NRR: -0.31, Last match: vs India – Zimbabwe are still somehow alive in the race but it will be extremely tough for them to make it to the semifinals from here. They have to beat India by a healthy margin of 50 runs and they have to rely on Netherlands to beat South Africa with the same margin. However, they still have to pray for rain to play spoilsport in Pakistan vs Bangladesh match. They can only make it to the semifinals if they managed to tie points with other teams and have a superior NRR to them.
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