With their backs against the wall, the Pakistan cricket team produced a stupendous all-round show to beat South Africa in the Group 2 clash of the Super 12 round in the T20 World Cup 2022 on Thursday. With the win over the Proteas, Pakistan have put 4 points on the board, having won a total of 2 matches from their first 4 games of the group stage. Had South Africa won the game, they would’ve qualified for the semi-finals, with Pakistan out by all mathematical means. But, a victory for Babar Azam & Co. has now given Group 2 new dimensions as far as the semi-finals qualification scenario goes.
As standings go in the Group 2, India are placed at the No. 1 position with 6 points in 4 games. Their only loss came against South Africa. Second on the points table are South Africa, with 2 wins and 1 No-Result from 4 matches.
With the win over South Africa, Pakistan have climbed up to the 3rd spot in the standings, with 2 wins from 4 matches. Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Netherlands take the 4th, 5th and 6th spots respectively.
Group 2 Qualification Scenario:
India:A victory over Zimbabwe in their final group game would see India take the group-winners spot and qualify for the semi-finals. A defeat can also see them through if South Africa lose their last match. In case South Africa win and India lose their respective final games, then India would have to depend on Bangladesh beating Pakistan by a narrow margin, so that India can then trump Shakib al Hasan’s side on NRR.
South Africa:Presently on 5 points, South Africa only need to win their last match to qualify. If they lose, they will be out if the Pakistan vs Bangladesh match produces a result. If it rains in the South Africa vs Netherlands match, the equation will be down to NRR.
Pakistan:For Pakistan to qualify, they have to beat Bangladesh in their last match and also hope that either South Africa lose against Netherlands or see their match get washed out. A defeat for India in the final match against Zimbabwe will also see Pakistan go through as their NRR is better than the Indians.
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Bangladesh: With the worst run-rate of the group, Bangladesh’s qualification chances are pretty slim. They need to first beat Pakistan in their last match and hope that South Africa suffers a defeat against Netherlands. Even if India lose their last match to Zimbabwe, Bangladesh aren’t expected to go through because of a huge difference in NRR.
Zimbabwe and Netherlands are not in the running for the semi-finals.
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