T20 World Cup: Pakistan stay alive – How they can qualify for the semis | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Pakistan on Thursday kept their hopes alive and remained 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 is dependent on other results going their way in the group.
With their second successive 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 commanding 33-run win (DLS) against the Proteas took the semi-final race to the final round of matches, with four teams still vying for the two spots.
Pakistan will play Bangladesh, who are also still in contention, in their final group game on November 6 – and they need a big win to not only reach 6 points but to improve their net run rate (NRR), which may come into play in the end. Their current NRR, after 4 games, stands at 1.117.

Four teams – India, South Africa, Pakistan and Bangladesh, are still in contention for the two semi-final spots from the group. Pakistan need at least two of the three remaining matches of the group on Sunday to go their way to be able to advance to the next stage.
Sunday’s schedule: 5:30 AM IST – South Africa vs Netherlands, 9:30 AM IST – Pakistan vs Bangladesh and 1:30 PM IST – India vs Zimbabwe.
If South Africa win the first match on Sunday, they are through to the semi-final stage with 7 points. But if they lose, they will most certainly 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 games will decide their fate with NRR coming into 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 day’s second match to be played between the two teams, with the winner reaching 6 points. Their (Pakistan or Bangladesh) fate though will depend on the third game between India and Zimbabwe.
India, already on 6 points, will progress to the knock-out stage even if rain washes out the match vs Zimbabwe. But if India lose, NRR will come into play to determine which teams go through from the group.

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

How Pakistan can progress to the semis:
* The most important criteria still remains the same — big win in their final 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 they need India to lose their last group game vs Zimbabwe, which will leave them on 6 points, the same as Pak. Then NRR will come into play.
* South Africa must either lose their final game vs Netherlands or split points due to a rain forced abandoned contest in Adelaide. A loss will leave South Africa on 5 points, and a no-result will take them to 6 points – same as Pakistan (If Pak beat Bangladesh). Then NRR will come into play.
* Bangladesh, on 4 points, need to lose their last game against Pakistan. A win for Bangladesh will knock Pakistan out of the tournament.
* Pakistan will also be hoping that Zimbabwe, who are on 3 points, beat India in their last group game. The victory will take them to 5 points, but more importantly it will leave India on 6 points.