Babar Azam (L) and Rohit Sharma during Cricket World Cup 2023© AFP
The Indian cricket team has already booked their spot in the Cricket World Cup 2023 semifinals thanks to a brilliant unbeaten run in the competition. On the other hand, arch-rivals Pakistan have enjoyed a mixed run of form in the tournament with four wins and four losses in their eight encounters so far. While India’s last match against the Netherlands is nothing short of a formality, Pakistan’s game against England will be instrumental in deciding their future in the competition. While the situations could not be further apart for the traditional rivals, there is still a solid chance that they can end up facing each other in the World Cup semifinals.
India are guaranteed the top spot in the final points table irrespective of what happens in the game against the Netherlands. India have 16 points from 8 matches and second-placed South Africa are at 14 points.
How Pakistan can secure 4th spot in Points Table:
Pakistan, on the other hand, have to win their last match and depend on Afghanistan and hope to get a favourable result from the New Zealand game to book a spot in the semifinals. Pakistan and New Zealand have one match left in the tournament while Afghanistan will play South Africa in their final game in the competition.
Having already lost against Australia, if Afghanistan lose against South Africa too, the race will come down to Pakistan and New Zealand provided they win their respective matches. If Afghanistan win against South Africa, all three teams will have 10 points (provided Pakistan and New Zealand win their respective final matches too), and the race for the 4th spot will be decided by Net Run Rate (NRR).
If Pakistan win their match and both New Zealand and Afghanistan lose their final matches in the group stage, the Babar Azam-led side will finish fourth and end up facing India in the semi-finals. As per the format, the first-placed team will face the 4th-placed team in the semi-finals. Hence, and Indo-Pak clash will enthrall the fans once again in World Cup 2023.
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