World Cup: Race to reach the semi-finals has entered an exciting phase

World Cup: Race to reach the semi-finals has entered an exciting phase
. Asghar Ali Mubarak.

In the World Cup, along with the Kiwis, the teams of Pakistan and Afghanistan can also reach the semi-finals.
After New Zealand’s defeat by South Africa by 190 runs in the World Cup 2023,

the race to reach the semi-finals has entered an interesting phase and now along with the Kiwis, the teams of Pakistan and Afghanistan can also reach the semi-finals.

South Africa and India have already qualified for the semi-finals after winning six matches, while Australia, who have won four matches, are also assured of reaching the next stage as they have two of their next three matches against weaker opponents like Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

have to playSo far in the World Cup, New Zealand has 8 points from 7 matches, Pakistan has 6 points from 7 matches and Afghanistan has 6 points from 6 matches. To reach the semi-finals, the Pakistan team not only needs to win the next two matches,

but also has to surpass New Zealand in the net run rate. In the next two matches, Pakistan will face the finalist teams of the last World Cup, New Zealand and the defending champions, England. Currently, Pakistan’s run rate is minus 0.024 and New Zealand’s is 0.484.

If the Pakistan team defeats New Zealand by 83 runs or more in the next match or bats later and achieves the target in 35 overs, then they will overtake the Kiwis in the run rate. Even then,

the final four teams will be decided only after Pakistan’s match against England and New Zealand’s match against Sri Lanka. Even in this case, Pakistan will not only have to defeat the defending champions,

but the national team will have the advantage that since the New Zealand team will have played a match against Sri Lanka, it will have an idea of reaching the semi-finals.

So by how much margin does he need to win against England? If the Pakistan team loses to New Zealand, then all the doors will be closed for them to reach the semi-finals and a win against England will also be of no use. On the other hand,

the Afghanistan team is also the main contender to play the semi-finals and victory in two of the next three matches will also pave the way for them. After defeating the world champions like England,

Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the Afghan team next faces an easy opponent like the Netherlands, but the biggest challenge for them is that they have to play their last two matches against the likes of Australia and South Africa.

If the Afghanistan team wins three matches, there will be no obstacle to reach the semi-finals, while after defeating the Netherlands, if they defeat either Australia or South Africa, they will be among the final four teams.

Hopes of inclusion will remain bright. However, if the Afghanistan team wins five matches, then the issue will come down to the run rate, and Afghanistan’s run rate is very bad at the moment, so the team with a negative 0.718 run rate must win the next three matches for the next stage. is required.