As England and Australia secure their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup semi-final spots through Group 1, attention turns to Group 2, where three teams remain in the hunt to join Pakistan in the final four.
In the fight for the other semi-final spot, India, Afghanistan and New Zealand are looking for position, and it all rests on New Zealand’s match with Afghanistan today, the world’s attention will be on Abu Dhabi.
Given the significance of the match and the three teams’ hopes, we’ve broken down the consequences of all three possible results.
If New Zealand win:
The situation for New Zealand: Locked in for the semi-finals with a chance at top in the group
The situation for Afghanistan: Eliminated
The situation for India: Eliminated
If Afghanistan win:
An Afghanistan win opens up all sorts of permutations.
It would take the team to six points, drawing them level on points with New Zealand and likely second courtesy of superior net run-rate.
The situation for New Zealand: Eliminated
The situation for Afghanistan: Through to the semi-finals if India lose or if finish with an inferior net run-rate
The situation for India: Through to semi-finals if they beat Namibia and secure a superior NRR than both Afghanistan and New Zealand.
If the match ends in a tie or non-result:
he chances of a tie or a non-result are minimal given the climate of Abu Dhabi and unlimited Super Overs barring exceptional circumstances.
Nevertheless, if New Zealand and Afghanistan were to split the points, New Zealand would move to seven points making it impossible for India to chase them down.
The situation for New Zealand: Through to the semi-finals
The situation for Afghanistan: Eliminated
The situation for India: Eliminated
