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T20 World Cup: England win vs NZ sets up gripping SF qualification tussle; Afghanistan out - Check Group 1 points table
With the win in Brisbane, England jumped to the second spot in the points table for Group 1 while New Zealand remained in the top spot, but things have now turned difficult for Australia and Sri Lanka.
England scripted an impressive win at the Gabba on Tuesday to inflict New Zealand their first defeat in the ongoing T20 World Cup. Electing to bat first, the openers, Alex Hales and Jos Buttler laid the perfect foundation with their respective half-centuries as England finished with 179 for six. In reply, the New Zealand openers faltered. Kane Williamson and Glenn Phillips did aim to pull things back with their valiant stand, but wickets at regular interval and tidy death-over bowling chocked New Zealand as they succumbed to a 20-run defeat.
With the win in Brisbane, England jumped to the second spot in the points table for Group 1 while New Zealand remained in the top spot, but things have now turned difficult for Australia and Sri Lanka. Ireland are too in with a chance, albeit a slim mathematical possibility, while Afghanistan have been knocked out after their loss to Sri Lanka earlier on Tuesday.
What does the semi-final qualification scenario stands in Group 1?
An excellent net run rate of +2.233 gives New Zealand the upper edge in the battle for the semis spot among the five teams in the group. If they beat Ireland in their final game on November 4 in Adelaide, New Zealand are guaranteed to finish top of the table and reach the semi-final.
If they lose, Australia and England have the opportunity to grab the top two spots with wins in their last two matches - Australia face Afghanistan on November 4 while England face Sri Lanka on the following day. A loss for either or both would hand New Zealand the advantage, even if they lose to Ireland, given their superior NRR.
If all three win their final matches, the Blackcaps go through as the first semifinalists, it will then be down to Australia and England. Now the defending champions have an inferior NRR (-0.304) compared to England (+0.547) and also have the disadvantage of playing their final game a day before England. Aussies hence need to beat Afghanistan by a massive margin to catch up England in the NRR race.
For Ireland, they need to beat New Zealand by a big margin and hope other factors go their way. Sri Lanka too are in with a chance. If they can beat England and expect Afghanistan to stun Australia, they can go through to the next round.
