The two big teams that have already been eliminated from the tournament are New Zealand and Sri Lanka, with Pakistan’s chances hanging by a thread after defeat against arch rivals India and a shock loss to the US.
As of now, India are on top of Group A, Australia lead Group B, Afghanistan are No. 1 in Group C, and South Africa are the toppers in Group D.
The one remaining spot on offer in Group B is being contested between neighbours England and Scotland. England’s first game in the group was washed out against Scotland, and they lost the next to traditional rivals Australia. England’s comprehensive victory over Oman in 19 balls has improved their chances immensely, but they still need to beat Namibia and hope the Scots don’t upset Australia.
England are currently in third position with three points from their three games and a net run rate of +3.081. They need to win their last match in the group stage to secure five points. That will bring them on equal points with Scotland (5 each) if the Scots lose their concluding group game against Australia, which is likely. In that eventually, England, who already have a better net run rate than Scotland, will go through.
With England’s qualification still not confirmed, Australia fast bowler Josh Hazlewood said, “In this tournament, you potentially come up against England at some stage again, and they’re probably one of the top few teams on their day. We’ve had some real struggles against them in T20 cricket, so if we can get them out of the tournament, that’s in our best interest as well as probably everyone else’s. It’ll be interesting to see. We’ve never really been in this position before as a team.”
Hazlewood has no doubt that Australia will aim for a clean sweep in the group by defeating Scotland, but there is also the temptation to assist Scotland in maintaining their net run rate over England. “There are a few options, like getting close and just knocking it around to drag it out,” Hazlewood added.
T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 Qualified Teams:
As of June 13, five teams have already booked a spot in the T20 World Cup Super 8s’ stage. India, Australia, Afghanistan, West Indies and South Africa have advanced to the next round. All these teams have played three matches each and remain undefeated in their respective groups.
An exciting match is on the horizon when Afghanistan take on co-hosts West Indies in Group C. The result in this match will end the unbeaten run of one of these two teams before entering the ‘Super 8s’.
T20 WORLD CUP 2024: Schedule | Points Table | T20 World Cup teams
T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 Groups (as per seedings before the start of the tournament):
Group 1: A1 (India), B2 (Australia), C1 (New Zealand), D2 (Sri Lanka)
Group 2: A2 (Pakistan), B1 (England), C2 (West Indies), D1 (South Africa)
Afghanistan will be playing as C1 since New Zealand have been knocked out of the T20 World Cup 2024, and Bangladesh are looking like a strong contender for D2 to replace Sri Lanka, who have also bowed out.
If USA win their last match against Ireland or it gets washed out by rain, they will replace Pakistan as A2. On the other hand, if Scotland manage to upset Australia, they will take England’s spot as B1. If Scotland fail to win against Australia, the decision will come down to net run rate.
Also see: T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8: Who will India face and other match details?
T20 World Cup Super 8 matches, venues, time and date:
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