In the 39th match of the ICC World Cup 2023 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Australia defeated Afghanistan by three wickets thanks to a scorching century by Glenn Maxwell; nonetheless, Pakistan’s route to the semi-final is still challenging.
Maxwell, 35, terrorized Afghanistan’s bowlers and hit them all over the park as he, alongside skipper Pat Cummins, snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Following their victory, Australia qualified for the World Cup semifinals.
Afghanistan’s final group-stage encounter is against South Africa on November 10. Afghanistan would share 10 points with Pakistan and New Zealand if both sides win their games and defeat the Proteas.
But Afghanistan’s net run rate is currently negative, and they would need to defeat Temba Bavuma’s team handily in order to have a chance to advance to the semi-final. New Zealand and Pakistan will thus directly compete for the final semi-final spot.
With a 0.398 NRR, New Zealand is now ranked fifth, while Pakistan comes in at 0.036 NRR.
Qualification Scenario:
- If NZ beat SL by 50 runs, Pakistan will have to beat England by 180 runs.
- If NZ beat SL by 1 run, Pakistan will have to beat England by 131 runs.
- If SL beat NZ, Pakistan will just have to beat England and they will qualify.
- If SL vs NZ is washed out due to rain, Pakistan will just have to beat England to qualify.
Matches schedule
- November 9 — New Zealand vs Sri Lanka at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, India.
- November 10 — Afghanistan vs South Africa at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, India.
- November 11 — Pakistan vs England at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, India.
