First, here is how the points table looks after match No. 34 between Afghanistan and Netherlands
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | Points | Net Run Rate |
| 1. India (Q) | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | +2.102 |
| 2. South Africa | 7 | 6 | 1 | 12 | +2.290 |
| 3. Australia | 6 | 4 | 2 | 8 | +0.970 |
| 4. New Zealand | 7 | 4 | 3 | 8 | +0.484 |
| 5. Afghanistan | 7 | 4 | 3 | 8 | -0.330 |
| 6. Pakistan | 7 | 3 | 4 | 6 | -0.024 |
| 7. Sri Lanka | 7 | 2 | 5 | 4 | -1.162 |
| 8. Netherlands | 7 | 2 | 5 | 4 | -1.398 |
| 9. Bangladesh (E) | 7 | 1 | 6 | 2 | -1.446 |
| 10. England | 6 | 1 | 5 | 2 | -1.652 |
Remaining fixtures: AUS and SA
The Afghans kept their chances of making the semifinals with a thumping seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka and they went on to beat Netherlands with a similar fashion. This was the team’s fourth win in the tournament, which took its points tally to eight.
It also meant that the top four, especially New Zealand and Australia, would be affected by Afghanistan’s results.
Two wins from the next two would take Afghanistan’s tally to 12 points. If either Australia or New Zealand loses two or more games, Afghanistan will advance to the top four. Even one defeat against Australia would assure it a place.
However, two losses would require New Zealand to lose all three and Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and the Netherlands to get less than eight points for Afghanistan to qualify.
Assuming it loses to both Australia and South Africa, here are the results Afghanistan needs to stay in the hunt:
NZ vs PAK - PAK
ENG vs AUS - AUS
IND vs SA - IND/SA
BAN vs SL - BAN
AUS vs AFG - AUS
ENG vs NED - ENG
NZ vs SL - SL
SA vs AFG - SA
AUS vs BAN - AUS
ENG vs PAK - ENG
IND vs NED - IND
Here, New Zealand and Afghanistan end up on eight points, and the team with the superior net run rate will advance.
Comments
SHARE