T20 World Cup Semis: There is so much to talk about Group 1 since the beginning of Super 12 in ICC T20 World Cup 2022. Considered from the start, the Group of Death, GOD is now at a point where anything and everything can happen.
Let’s take a look at which team will Qualify for Semis from Group 1 after England’s Win over New Zealand
Australia in Deep Troubles After England Win
Australia’s chances of making it to the T20 World Cup semis are now in jeopardy after England defeated New Zealand at the Gabba by a score of 20 runs. The defending world champions are now in third place in Group 1 and will need to beat Afghanistan handily in their final Super 12 group stage match on Friday in Adelaide to increase their net-run-rate (NRR) as all three teams are tied for first place in terms of points.
However, because of Australia’s lower NRR of -0.304 than those of England (+0.547) and New Zealand (+2.233), the World Cup hosts must essentially hope that those teams lose their respective semifinal matches against Sri Lanka and Ireland.
While England captain Jos Buttler was on his way to a game-high score of 73 from 47 balls and his 100th T20 international, New Zealand did themselves no favours by dismissing him twice.
With a superb 62 from 36 balls, Glenn Phillips once more came close to bringing New Zealand to their target and keeping Australia’s fate in their own hands, but England’s bowlers maintained their composure late.
Comfortable New Zealand Not so Comfortable Now
New Zealand is still at the top of the table of Group 1. If they won the battle against England on Tuesday, they would have already qualified given their high Net Run Rate. Even after losing by 20 runs, their NRR is at +2.233. They would just need to win the match against Ireland to qualify for the semis. It may sound that they may get in trouble even after the win, if Australia and England both win their matches. Both will equal them on points tally, but they NRR is too high to compete with. Ireland may help clear some path for AUS and ENG if they manage to win against NZ. (this though we feel is highly unlikely)
All Lose and Sri Lanka Wins
Sri Lanka will hope Australia, England and New Zealand all lose their matches or at least 2 of the team definitely do. If Australia loses to the Afghans, New Zealand loses to Ireland and they win the match against England. This will qualify them on the basis of higher points, i.e., 6, easily. They won the match against Afghanistan on Tuesday with a good margin to upscale their run rate. Their journey now totally depends on Australia, England or New Zealand even if they win.
Bye-Bye Ireland and Afghanistan
Although there is a lot of confusion in the Group 1.We might will only be analyze (wrongly) till the Super 12 is over. As to which teams will qualify for Semis. But there is one thing that is clear. Ireland and Afghanistan are out of the tournament. They will need to pull off a lot of turnarounds and even though this is a World Cup of thrills and adventure, we are not convinced anything can happen for either of the teams.
ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Must Watch Matches on Friday and Saturday
A lot of things will be decided on Friday. We have both the matches being played from Group 1. Ireland will play against New Zealand and Australia will play Afghanistan. The big giants will exhaust their chances of gaining points as they will be playing their last Super 12 match. If we go by convention, they both are expected to win by a big margin.
On Saturday, England will play Sri Lanka. This will again be a must-win match for both teams. England has a greater chance of qualifying for Semis if they have a convincing win over the Islanders given their higher NRR. On the other hand, Australia will hope for Sri Lanka to win the match. If they do, England’s tournament ends there unless Australia also loses to Afghanistan which is unlikely given the form of the players.
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