ICC World Cup 2019: India vs Pakistan final still possible, know the latest qualification scenarios

Three teams – Australia, England and India – have booked their semi-finals spots in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. While Australia and India qualified comfortably, England huffed and puffed to the next level in their last match. Despite losing to England, New Zealand is very likely to qualify too. While there is no fight left with all the remaining team, except Pakistan, already out of contention, there are still chances or very dim chances of New Zealand being disqualified. Although highly unlikely, Pakistan, who will play Bangladesh on Friday, can replace New Zealand in the list of four semi-finalists, given certain conditions. And not just that, India vs Pakistan World Cup final is also possible. After all, it’s a game of cricket.

Below are the World Cup 2019 qualification scenarios for Pakistan and New Zealand

New Zealand (Points 11; NRR +0.175)

During the first half of the tournament, New Zealand were unbeaten and everyone was of the view that they might secure top two finish. However, they lost the momentum in the later stage of the tournament. From being the table toppers to not being able to officially qualify even after finishing all their league games, the black caps will be hoping Friday’s match between Pakistan and Bangladesh remains a normal game of cricket and the men in green don’t do the unthinkable.

After losing their last match against England, New Zealand finished on the fourth place with 11 points. However, if Pakistan beat Bangladesh, they will also have the same 11 points and their qualification will depend on the net run rate. New Zealand (NRR +0.175) would take a sigh of relief as their net run rate is much higher than that of Pakistan (NRR -0.792).

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Pakistan (9 points; NRR-0.792)

Pakistan still have mathematical chances of advancing even after New Zealand’s defeat against England. But in that case, they have to beat Bangladesh with a big margin, actually very big margin. First thing first, if Pakistan lose the toss, they stand eliminated. But if they win the toss and bat first, they will have to defeat Bangladesh by a massive of 316 runs. Sarfaraz was right when he said “we have to be realistic” and given Bangladesh’s current form, even defeating them would be a herculean task for Pakistan.

Chances of India vs Pakistan final in ICC Cricket World Cup 2019

If Pakistan win against Bangladesh with a margin of over 300 runs, their net run rate will hopefully get better than the Kiwis and they will finish fourth and will play against the team finishing on top of the points table. If Australia, who have 14 points in their eight games, beat South Africa in the last league game, they will finish on top of the table. India on the other hand will finish second if they beat Sri Lanka in their last encounter and England will be the third team. Now the top team will take on the 4^th team in the first semifinal and no. 2 and no. 3 will play in second semifinal.

Assuming if Pakistan play against Australia in the first semifinal and beat them, they will play the final against the winner of second semifinal. Now if India wins the second semifinal against England, they will play Pakistan in the finals. So, yes!! It is highly unlikely but India vs Pakistan World Cup final is still possible.