New Delhi. There is good news for Pakistan cricket team fans. Bangladesh made the semi-final equation easy for the Pakistan team. Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka by 3 wickets in a controversial match on Monday. With this, the Sri Lankan team was out of the World Cup semi-final race. That means one more competitor of the Pakistani team is out. India is currently number one in the World Cup 2023 points table. No team can shake him from the top now. India could face Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan or the Netherlands in the semi-finals. Let’s understand what is the equation for Pakistan to reach the semi-finals?
4 teams are challenging each other
Before understanding Pakistan’s semi-final equation, it is important to know where the teams stand in the current World Cup points table. So first know that India has made it to the semi-finals with 16 points and South Africa with 12 points. Apart from this, it is not yet decided whether any team will play the semi-finals. Australia are very close to the semi-finals with 10 points. While Pakistan, New Zealand and Afghanistan are firmly in the semi-final race with 8 points each. The Netherlands (4 points) are also still optimistic. While Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and England are out of the race for the semi-finals.
Australia’s fate will be decided today
Australia have won 5 of their 7 matches so far in World Cup 2023. The Australian team lost the first two matches. But after this he made a brilliant comeback. After returning to winning ways, he has won 5 matches in a row. His run rate is +0.924. Australia to play against Australia on Tuesday, November 7. If they continue their winning streak, they will beat Afghanistan to book a place in the semi-finals. But even if he loses, his next match is against the Netherlands. That means he will get another chance.
Pakistan and New Zealand have one match each left.
Now Pakistan and New Zealand have one match each left. New Zealand are scheduled to play Sri Lanka on November 9. Pakistan team will face England on November 11. That is, New Zealand’s match is first. If New Zealand wins, they will get 10 points. His run rate is currently +0.398, which will only get better. It will make Pakistan’s job difficult. If that happens, Pakistan will not only have to win the match, but win it by a bigger margin to improve the run rate. But if New Zealand loses, Pakistan will reach the fourth position only by winning the match.
Afghanistan have 2 matches left
Even though Sri Lanka has been removed from Pakistan’s path, Afghanistan still stands strong. Afghanistan has 8 points from 7 matches in World Cup. If he wins the remaining two matches, he can reach 12 points. That means Afghanistan is a team that can spoil the game of Pakistan and New Zealand. Afghanistan’s matches against Australia and South Africa are yet to be played. The path of the Afghan team is difficult. But former Afghanistan coach Lalchand Rajput is confident that this team can cause an upset. Let us tell you that the run rate of Afghanistan is lower than that of Pakistan.
The Netherlands also has some hope
The Netherlands can also now reach the semi-finals. But for this he will need to win both his matches by big margins. If this happens, he will get 8 points and the run rate will also be in plus. But even with 8 points, one has to pray that Pakistan, New Zealand and Afghanistan, who are in the race for the semi-finals, lose.
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Tags: Afghanistan, Pakistan, World Cup 2023
First published: November 7, 2023, 07:25 IST