New Zealand’s facile win over Sri Lanka in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 held at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru has put the team on the brink of qualification to the semifinal thanks to a healthy net run rate.
Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only two teams that can mathematically still finish above New Zealand, although the chances seem very bleak.
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Afghanistan has been the surprise package of the tournament so far, managing to achieve four wins in this edition of the World Cup. The team managed to beat three previous World Cup winning teams in England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Before the match against Australia at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, Afghanistan had its destiny in its own hands, needing two wins from two to make it to the knockout stages,
Afghanistan almost pulled off an upset over the five-time World Cup winners restricting them to 91/7 within 19 overs, before Glenn Mazwell’s unbeaten double hundred snatched victory from its hands.
What is the semifinal qualification scenario for Afghanistan?
Afghanistan next faces South Africa in its last league stage encounter at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad with an uphill task of making the top four.
Afghanistan’s current net run rate is -0.338 while New Zealand finished its league stage campaign with a net run rate of +0.743.
Afghanistan will have to beat South Africa by more than 438 runs to book its place in the semifinal against India at the Wankhede Stadium.
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The Afghan Atalan must also hope that Pakistan does not beat England in its last game by a huge margin and better its net run rate which is currently at +0.036.
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