ODI World Cup 2023
ODI World Cup 2023: Semi-final qualification scenarios after Australia’s win vs Afghanistan on Tuesday
Five-time World Cup winners Australia on Tuesday played the best game of the ODI World Cup 2023. The 3-wicket win over Afghanistan has thrown the race for the final spot in the semi-final places up for grabs.
Three teams will be in contention while the Dutch team still have an outside chance to reach the semi-finals. India, South Africa, and Australia are already through to the final four of the ODI World Cup 2023 tournament.
Defending champions England along with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are already out of the tournament. Ahead of the New Zealand versus Sri Lanka game on Thursday in Bengaluru, the ODI World Cup 2023 final week is expecting a lot of tense action on and off the field.
New Zealand – Look to win or pray for results
The Kiwis began the ODI World Cup 2023 with four successive wins to go top of the table. Their loss against India started a slide that saw them lose the next four games. New Zealand lost versus Pakistan despite scoring 401 runs thanks to the Duckworth and Lewis method.
If New Zealand wins – They will become odds on favourite to play the 1st semi-finals against India in Mumbai on the 15th of November. New Zealand has a superior run rate compared to both Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Kiwis currently boast of NRR which reads +0.398.
If New Zealand Loses – The Kiwis need to hope and pray Pakistan loses to England while Afghanistan lose to South Africa.
If the game gets rained out – New Zealand will get only 1 point which will take them to 9 points. Yet again the Kiwis will have to pray for Pakistan and Afghanistan losing their games on Saturday.
Pakistan – Win or Bust –
The Pakistani team began the ODI World Cup 2023 with two wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka in Hyderabad. The men in green then lost four games in a row before beating Bangladesh and New Zealand.
If Pakistan wins – They will get to 10 points for sure but they will have to hope that New Zealand their game. In case New Zealand wins the game on Thursday, then Pakistan has to win the game by a larger margin to overhaul the Kiwi’s Run Rate.
If Pakistan loses – Babar Azam and his men can look at an early exit if they lose to England on Saturday. For Pakistan to have an outside chance to make it to the final four they would need to hope that the Kiwis lose to Sri Lanka by a huge margin.
Afghanistan – Do or Die –
If Afghanistan wins – first beat South Africa by a huge margin to win the game. The Afghans will also have to hope that both New Zealand and Pakistan lose by even bigger margins.
If Afghanistan loses – That will be the end of their ODI World Cup 2023 tournament. The Glenn Maxwell drop catch by Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman will come back to haunt Hasmatullah Shahidi and his team.
