World Cup 2023 Scenarios: How India can face Pakistan in semi-final?

Three semi-final spots in the 2023 Cricket World Cup are already booked and only one more is left which has four teams still fighting for it. For those interested, India can still play Pakistan in the semi-finals. Team India is guaranteed of a top spot and will be playing fourth-placed side in the semi-final. With South Africa and Australia confirmed for the second and third spots, New Zealand, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Netherlands now fight for the fourth spot.

World Cup 2023: News | Schedule | Results | Points table

Afghanistan could have taken a lead in the race with a win over Australia on Tuesday in Mumbai but Glenn Maxwell’s inspired 201 not out allowed the Aussies to reach the semi-final.

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Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and England are already eliminated.

We take a look at what each team needs to do to qualify for the semi-final.

New Zealand
Points: 8
Net Run Rate (NRR): +0.398
Matches left: Vs Sri Lanka (9 November)

The Kiwis have an advantage mainly due to their superior NRR over other teams. If they win against Sri Lanka and keep a better NRR then it should not be a problem. But if they lose then they will have to rely on Afghanistan and Pakistan also losing their matches.

Pakistan
Points: 8
Net Run Rate (NRR): +0.036
Matches left: Vs England (11 November)

The best case scenario for Pakistan is that they win their next match, but New Zealand lose against Sri Lanka. If New Zealand win then Pakistan will need to beat England in such a fashion that their NRR is stronger than the Black Caps. If Pakistan lose then it will be out unless both New Zealand and Afghanistan also suffer defeats.

Afghanistan
Points: 8
Net Run Rate (NRR): -0.338
Matches left: Vs South Africa (10 November)

Afghanistan are levelled on points with New Zealand and Pakistan but have the worst NRR. In such a case they would hope New Zealand and Pakistan lose their matches, while Afghanistan beat South Africa. In case all three teams win then Afghanistan will need a massive win to compete on the basis of NRR. If Afghanistan lose to South Africa then chances are almost nil.

Netherlands
Points: 4
Net Run Rate (NRR): -1.398
Matches left: Vs England (8 November), Vs India (12 November)

The Netherlands have two matches left so they can still get to eight points but that may still not be enough if either New Zealand, Pakistan or Afghanistan win their match. The Netherlands also need to win their next two matches to get to eight points. If the Netherlands manage to win their two matches and New Zealand, Pakistan and Afghanistan lose their games then it will come down to NRR.