T20 World Cup: Pakistan stay alive – How they can qualify for semi-finals | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: Pakistan kept their hopes alive on Thursday and stayed in the race for the semi-final stage of the ongoing T20 World Cup in Australia after a victory against South Africa. But their fate still hangs in the balance and depends on other results going their way in the group.
With their second consecutive win, Pakistan jumped to third position in their group, with four points in the six-team Group 2, ahead of Bangladesh on NRR. Pakistan’s 33-run win (DLS) against the Proteas took the semi-final to the final round of matches, with four teams still in contention for the two spots.
Pakistan will face Bangladesh, who are also still in contention, in their final group match on November 6 – and they need a big win to not only get 6 points but improve their Net Run Rate (NRR), which in the game can come in the end. Their current NRR, after 4 matches, stands at 1.117.

Four teams – India, South Africa, Pakistan and Bangladesh – are still in contention for the two semi-finals of the group. Pakistan need at least two of the three remaining matches of the group on Sunday to go their way to progress to the next stage.
Sunday’s Schedule: 05:30 IST – South Africa vs Netherlands, 9:30 IST – Pakistan vs Bangladesh and 1:30 PM IST – India vs Zimbabwe.
If South Africa wins the first match on Sunday, they will go through to the semi-finals with 7 points. But if they lose, they will definitely be knocked out of the tournament. And another ‘no result’ due to rain will take them to 6 points and results in the other two matches will decide their fate with NRR in play.

Players from Pakistan and South Africa shake hands after their match. (AFP Photo)
Either Pakistan or Bangladesh will keep their hopes alive with a win in the second match of the day played between the two teams, with the winner taking 6 points. However, their (Pakistan or Bangladesh) fate will depend on the third match between India and Zimbabwe.
India, already on 6 points, will make it to the knockout stage even if rain washes out the match against Zimbabwe. But if India lose, NRR will come into play to determine which teams go through the group.

(AFP Photo)
(All statistics in this article are updated until the end of the game on November 3rd)
How the teams in Group 2 stand after four games each:
* India are back on top of the points table after beating Bangladesh in their fourth group match. They now have six points — three wins (against Pakistan, Netherlands and Bangladesh) and a loss (against SA).
* South Africa dropped to second, with five points, after their defeat against Pakistan on Thursday. They have two wins (against India and Bangladesh), a loss against Pakistan and a ‘no result’ against Zimbabwe, which gave them 1 point.
* Pakistan jumped to third in the standings after their victory over South Africa. They have four points from four games — two wins (against the Netherlands and South Africa) and two defeats (against India and Zimbabwe)
* Bangladesh slipped to fourth after their narrow defeat against India. They also have four points from four matches and are only behind Pakistan on NRR.
* Zimbabwe are now fifth with three points after losing to the Netherlands. They have a win (against Pakistan), a no result (against SA) and two defeats (against Bangladesh and the Netherlands).
* The Netherlands are out of the semi-finals despite their win against Zimbabwe. They have two points from four games.

How Pakistan can advance to the semi-finals:
* The most important criteria still remains the same — big win in their last group game against Bangladesh, which will take their tally to 6 points. It may or may not be enough for them in the end.
* For Pakistan to qualify, India must lose their last group match against Zimbabwe, which will leave them on 6 points, the same as Pak. Then NRR will come into play.
* South Africa must either lose their last game against the Netherlands or split points due to a rain-forced game in Adelaide. A loss would leave South Africa on 5 points, and a no result would take them to 6 points – the same as Pakistan (If Pak beat Bangladesh). Then NRR will come into play.
* Bangladesh, with 4 points, have to lose their last match against Pakistan. A win for Bangladesh will knock Pakistan out of the tournament.
* Pakistan will also hope that Zimbabwe, who are on 3 points, beat India in their last group match. The win will take them to 5 points but more importantly it will leave India on 6 points.