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ICC World Cup 2019: What teams have to do to reach semifinals

Out of the 10 teams in the fray, only one - Australia - have confirmed their spot in the semifinals.

Australia

Bengaluru, June 26: The ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 has reached an exciting phase now. Although initially it looked predictable, the last week has seen some interesting twists and turns in the competition.

WC Special | Schedule | Squads | Points Table

Out of the 10 teams in the fray, only one - Australia - have confirmed their spot in the semifinals.

Two teams - Afghanistan and South Africa - have crashed out with two games still remaining for each. It's for the remaining seven teams to battle for the three berths in the offing in the knockouts.

Here is a look at what these seven teams - New Zealand, India, England, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the West Indies - have to do in the business end of their campaign to make it to the last four.

New Zealand; 11 points from 6 games

New Zealand; 11 points from 6 games

Just one win is required for the team which has been thoroughly clinical in this competition. Kane Williamson's team has 11 points from six games and they play a resurgent Pakistan at Edgbaston on Wednesday.

The Kiwis have no reason to panic as just one win in the remaining three games (the other two are against Australia and England) will take them to their eighth WC semifinal. The Black Caps have a healthy net run-rate (NRR) of 1.306.

India; 9 points from 5 games

India; 9 points from 5 games

India's big advantage is that they have played one match less than other teams. They have played only five so far (in fact four with one getting washed out). With four wins, Virat Kohli's team is sitting pretty and would ideally like to win all the remaining games to top the points table (they can still reach 17 points along with New Zealand).

However, two wins out of the four remaining games will be enough to guarantee India a place in the semifinals. India's NRR is 0.809.

England; 8 points from 7 games

England; 8 points from 7 games

The hosts have suddenly pressed the panic button after a smooth sail. They were well-placed with eight points from five games but two back-to-back defeats against Sri Lanka and Australia have put Eoin Morgan's side in a spot of bother.

England now have to win their big clashes against India and New Zealand, both of whom are above them in the points table. A loss in any of these games could put England at the mercy of other teams. The Three Lions' can feel hopeful that their NRR is still a decent one (1.051).

Bangladesh; 7 points from 7 games

Bangladesh; 7 points from 7 games

England's loss at Lord's on Wednesday has certainly made Bangladesh happy. The Tigers rue the loss of a point against Sri Lanka because of rain but they have shown a lot of character in their last three matches of which they have won two and gave a fight to Australia.

Mashrafe Mortaza's men now have some time to regroup and will meet Asian powerhouses India ad Pakistan in their last two matches. Ideally, they have to win both and also improve their current NRR of -0.133. Two wins will take Bangladesh to 11 points and should be fine, provided England lose at least one of their remaining games.

Sri Lanka; 6 points from 6 games

Sri Lanka; 6 points from 6 games

Dimuth Karunaratne's side never looked a side to go the distance at the beginning, but after their 20-run win over England, Sri Lanka also look a side that could make it to the semifinals.

However, they have to pip England as well as Bangladesh to do so and have a game extra than both those teams. The former world champions have games left against South Africa, West Indies and India and would try to pick full four points against the Proteas and Caribbeans before taking on a strong India.

Sri Lanka would be considering them lucky for having shared points with Pakistan and Bangladesh - two tough opponents - in this competition. Lanka's NRR is -1.119.

Pakistan; 5 points from 6 games

Pakistan; 5 points from 6 games

It's still a tough ask for Pakistan at the moment despite their impressive 49-run win over South Africa at Lord's the other day. Sarfraz Ahmed's side play New Zealand on Wednesday and it will be the most challenging game for them in the tournament.

A win there will boost the team's morale for the remaining two matches against Afghanistan and Bangladesh but a loss will certainly draw the curtains. Pakistan's NRR is also not in too good a shape (-1.265). Three wins in the last three games will take Pakistan to 11 points which might still put them in competition with other teams because of the NRR.

If Bangladesh and Pakistan win all their games from here on till they take on each other on July 5, that match could become a virtual quarterfinal.

West Indies; 3 points from 6 games

West Indies; 3 points from 6 games

Though the two-time former champions are almost out of semifinal reckoning, they still have a mathematical chance to progress.

If they lose against India at Old Trafford on Thursday, it is all over for them. But even if they win and back it up with two more wins against Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, still Jason Holder's side can reach a maximum of nine points which might still not be enough.

They got another day to live with England's loss against Australia, but will be done and dusted if they fail to surprise Virat Kohli's side. The West Indies' only hope is that they have a positive NRR of 0.182. But a winless June so far has cost them hard.

Story first published: Wednesday, June 26, 2019, 12:30 [IST]
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