New Delhi: On Monday, the Pakistani cricket team defeated the Bangladesh cricket team by 7 wickets in Eden Gardens, to keep their hopes for the top 4 finish alive.
However, the result of the match also resulted in the Bangladeshi Tigers becoming the first team to be officially eliminated from the tournament, after they suffered their sixth consecutive loss.
Bangladesh, even if they manage to win their remaining matches, can only get up to 6 points, which will not be enough for a top 4 finish.
The final four positions for the ICC World Cup 2023 look set, and the current top 4 are likely to be the final top 4 also, however, they can’t let their guards down as even a small mistake can prove fatal at this point of the stage.
However, the hosts India, who are at the top of the points table with 6 wins out of 6 matches, seem to be the only team running away with the final 4 spots as it will need a series of near-impossible miracles if anyone wants to eliminate the men in blue from the tournament.
India needs only one win from their next three matches to officially get the ‘Q’ in front of their name, and with matches left against Sri Lanka and the Netherlands, it doesn’t seem that big of a task keeping the Indian team’s form in mind.
The South African team, which holds the second spot with 10 points, needs to win 2 more to qualify.
However, even one win will be enough if Afghanistan loses one of its remaining 3 matches.
Third-spot New Zealand and fourth-spot Australia are in a similar position with 8 points, and they need 3 out of 3 wins to qualify. They can even qualify with two wins if Australia manages to secure a win against Afghanistan.
Interestingly, if we look at the remaining fixtures, the fourth-placed Australia is more likely to make it to the final four than the third-placed New Zealand.
The battle of the final four in the bottom half of the points table seemed to be dead for a long time, but Afghanistan and Pakistan, with their victories over Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, have opened the final four battle wide open once again.
