New Zealand becomes first team to qualify for T20 World Cup 2022 semifinals

The Kiwis have a healthy Net Run Rate of +2.113 and are likely to advance to the semis as the top-ranked team from Group 1. Only England, which plays Sri Lanka on Saturday and has a NRR of +0.547, has a slim chance of going past New Zealand’s NRR.

New Zealand became the first team to qualify for T20 World Cup 2022 semifinals in Australia. | Photo Credit: AP

New Zealand became the first team to qualify for the 2022 T20 World Cup semifinals when Australia ended its innings against Afghanistan on 168 for eight. Australia needed to beat Afghanistan by 185 runs to go past New Zealand’s Net Run Rate (NRR) but didn’t have enough runs on the board to win by that margin.

Australia needs to restrict Afghanistan to 106 or lower to go past England’s NRR. Even then, England could advance to the semis if it beats Sri Lanka on Saturday by a certain margin. In case Australia wins on Friday but fails to restrict Afghanistan under 106, a straightforward win for England against Sri Lanka will be enough to knock Australia out.

Sri Lanka, which has four points, will need Australia to lose to Afghanistan and will have to beat England in order to advance to the semifinals. If Australia wins on Friday, Sri Lanka will be eliminated from the tournament.

New Zealand beat Ireland by 35 runs on Friday at the Adelaide Oval and stayed on top of the Group 1 points table with seven points from five matches. The Kiwis have a healthy NRR of +2.113 and are likely to advance to the semis as the top-ranked team. Only England (five points), which plays Sri Lanka on Saturday and has a NRR of +0.547, has a chance of going past New Zealand’s NRR.

The Kane Williamson-led side began its campaign on a high, thrasing host Australia by 89 runs. It registered a 65-run win over Sri Lanka after its game against Afghanistan was washed out due to rain. Its 35-run win over Ireland on Friday was its third of the tournament.

New Zealand had beaten England by five wickets in the semifinals of the T20 World Cup 2021 in UAE before losing to Australia by eight wickets in the final.

This is will be New Zealand’s fourth T20 World Cup semifinal appearance. The Kiwis were beaten by Pakistan in the semifinal of the inaugural edition in 2007 and had to wait for nine years before their next last-four appearance in 2016, where it lost to England.

Year	Opposition	Result	Venue
2007	Pakistan	Lost by six wickets	Cape Town
2016	England	Lost by seven wickets	Delhi
2021	England	Won by five wickets	Abu Dhabi
2022	TBD	TBD	TBD