Who needs what in Group 2 to reach the T20 World Cup semis?

Five of the six teams in Group 2 are still in the running for a top-two place and a spot in the semi-finals.

Published On 5 Nov 2022

Five out of the six Group 2 teams in the T20 World Cup have a chance of reaching the semi-finals.

India, South Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe are all in contention ahead of the final round of matches on Sunday. Only the Netherlands stand no chance of progressing.

Waiting for the two teams are New Zealand and England who went through from Group 1.

Who meets them from Group 2 will come down to number of games won or even a team’s net rate rate (NRR).

Fixtures for Sunday

South Africa (5pts) v Netherlands (2pts)
Pakistan (4pts) v Bangladesh (4pts)
Zimbabwe (3pts) v India (6pts)

This is what each team need to do in order to stay on contention:

India

With six points from four games, India sit at the top of the group. But progress is not guaranteed.

To ensure progress, India must beat Zimbabwe. But if they lose they could still go through if the Netherlands pull off a shock win over South Africa or if Bangladesh manage to beat Pakistan and ensure they do not improve their NRR considerably.

Thanks to the scheduling, India play last on Sunday, so they will know what the situation is before a ball is bowled.

“One thing I’ve learnt about champion players, in this game in particular, is that you never write them off.”

Ricky Ponting always believed in Virat Kohli’s excellence ✨@BYJUS | #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/wyWl3II0bj

— ICC (@ICC) November 5, 2022

South Africa

Second in the table as it stands are the Proteas with five points. Progress to the semi-finals is simple for South Africa: They need to beat the Netherlands.

A single point from an abandoned game will not be enough, as six points will be matched by the winner of the Pakistan vs Bangladesh game – and that team will then have one more win than South Africa, knocking them out.

Pakistan

With four points from four games, Pakistan sit third. They have kept the dream alive though but now their fate is no longer solely in their hands. If India and South Africa both win, Pakistan will be eliminated.

To progress, not only must Pakistan beat Bangladesh but hope that South Africa either lose to the Netherlands – or have their game abandoned, or that India lose to Zimbabwe.

Mohammad Haris coming in & playing his first game of the T20 WC with the kind of intent the entire Pakistan team should have been playing with to begin with. The case of not qualifying for semis, if it does happen will be purely down to the approach,regardless of the conditions.

— zainab abbas (@ZAbbasOfficial) November 3, 2022

Bangladesh

Fourth in the group is Bangladesh, with equal points to Pakistan. But a poor run rate means that for them to attempt to overtake India on the final group game day would require nothing short of a cricketing miracle: Bangladesh must beat Pakistan, and Zimbabwe beat India, and the combined margin of victory across the two games exceeds 150 runs.

The two underdog teams do not just have to win, but have to absolutely batter their favoured opponents in order for Bangladesh to stand a chance at going through to the semi-finals.

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe’s three points sees them sit second-from-bottom but there still is hope, on paper, at least.

A win against India would see Zimbabwe net five points from their group campaign. If South Africa lose against the Netherlands, they will also have five points. And if Pakistan vs Bangladesh is abandoned due to the weather, those teams will also have five points.

In that contrived situation, Zimbabwe would be level with those on points. But still, Zimbabwe’s NRR is so low that they would have to beat India by at least 50 runs and have the Netherlands beat South Africa by at least 50 runs in order to boost their NRR enough to make it through.

There is still a chance, but do not bet your house on it.

The Netherlands

The Dutch have had a torrid time at this World Cup Super 12, with only a win over Zimbabwe to write home about.

That said, they could still play a huge role in this group to upset the apple cart: If they can pull off a win against South Africa on Sunday, it will shake up the whole tournament they are leaving behind.