India beat Sri Lanka by 82 runs© AFP
The Indian women’s cricket team kept their T20 World Cup 2024 semi-final progression hopes alive with a comprehensive victory against Sri Lanka. Skipper Harmanpreet was the team’s wrecker-in-chief with the bat, as India thumped the islanders by 82 runs. The result took India’s Net Run Rate to +0.576, slotting in at the second spot, behind group leaders Australia. Though India find themselves at the runners-up spot, they need to get the better of Australia next if they are to seal their spot in the final 4. A loss is likely to make things quite complicated for them.
If India Beat Australia:
India have to win their final match of the group stage, against Australia, otherwise, their semi-final qualification chances will not be in their own hands. If India do go on to beat the Aussies, the Women in Blue, Australia, and New Zealand will be locked on 6 points each (3 wins out of 4 matches). In that case, Net Run Rate will decide which team goes through to the knockouts. At present, India have a better NRR than New Zealand.
If Australia Beat India:
If India lose to Australia, their semi-final hopes will be at the mercy of other teams. In this scenario, Australia will go through to the final 4 as the group leaders, with 4 wins in 4 matches. For India to still progress as runners-up, Australia would need to beat Pakistan while New Zealand would need to lose at least one of their final two group games – against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
With Pakistan also accumulating 4 points in the process, their NRR should be lower than India’s for Harmanpreet Kaur & Co. to go through to the next round. New Zealand are also in a similar boat, but their NRR is quite inferior to India at present. Hence, the chances of them toppling Harmanpreet’s side are slim.
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