ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: Chances of India vs Pakistan final and qualification scenarios

Three teams – England, New Zealand and Pakistan are fighting for two semi-final spots of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, while two teams – Australia and India – are through the next level with teams already out of the race. Five of the round robin league matches are still remaining but only two of them will decide the fate of these three teams and others are just dead rubbers. England will play New Zealand today at Chester-le-Street while Pakistan will lock horns against Bangladesh, who have been knocked out of the tournament by India on Tuesday.

Below are the World Cup 2019 qualification scenarios for each team:

England (Points 10; NRR +1.000)

If England beat New Zealand in today’s game, they will qualify for the semi-finals and finish third with 12 points. However, if they lose to New Zealand, qualification chances will slip out of their own hand and will depend on the Pakistan vs Bangladesh game. In that case, they will have to hope that Bangladesh beat Pakistan. But if the match between Bangladesh and Pakistan ends a tie or is abandoned, England will still qualify as they have more outright wins in their kitty than Pakistan. England will be eliminated if they lose to New Zealand and Pakistan beat Bangladesh.

New Zealand (Points 11; NRR +0.572)

During the first half of the tournament, New Zealand was unbeaten and everyone was of the view that they might secure top two finish. However, the Kiwis lost the momentum in the later stage but their qualification chances are still in their own hands. If they beat England, they will advance to the next state with 13 points.

However, if they lose to England and Pakistan beat Bangladesh, then both New Zealand and Pakistan will have the same 11 points and their qualification will depend on the net run rate. But they to maintain the lead over Pakistan in net run rate, they will have to make sure they don’t lose to England with a big margin and hope that Pakistan doesn’t beat Bangladesh with the same or higher margin.

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Pakistan (9 points; NRR-0.792)

If New Zealand beat England and they beat Bangladesh in their last league game, Pakistan will qualify for the semi-finals with 11 points. If do have mathematical chances of advancing even if New Zealand lose to England. But in that case, they have to hope that England beat Kiwis by 212 runs (assuming the target is 300) and then they beat Bangladesh by the same or higher margin. But if Pakistan lose to Bangaldesh at Lords’ on Friday, they stand eliminated.

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

If Pakistan win against Bangladesh and New Zealand beat England, they will finish fourth in the points table. 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 New Zealand will stand at number 3. 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 New Zealand, they will play Pakistan in the finals. So, yes!! India vs Pakistan World Cup final is quite possible.