ICC Cricket World Cup semi-final scenarios: England bounce back, Pakistan under pressure

The race for the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup semi-finals has intensified with the result of the India vs England clash in Edgbaston. Virat Kohli’s Indian cricket team were undone by a disciplined bowling effort from England and a century from Jonny Bairstow as England won by 31 runs, their first win against India since the 1992 World Cup clash in Perth. England’s win has once again opened up the entire play-off race with five teams fighting for three positions. With only one week of league games remaining, the pressure is on England, New Zealand, Pakistan and Bangladesh to ensure that they do not slip up in their remaining games. Here is what the remaining six teams have to do to seal a spot in the semis. 

India 

P – 7, W – 5, L – 1, N/R – 1, Points - 11 

Position in table: 2^nd 

Games remaining: vs Bangladesh (July 2), vs Sri Lanka (July 6) 

What they must do: 

India’s loss has once again opened up the race for the semi-finals. However, they need to win only one out of their remaining games to qualify. If Australia win against South Africa, they will end up in second. If India lose their remaining games by a massive margin and England win against New Zealand and Pakistan thrash Bangladesh, then India could be eliminated. 

New Zealand 

P – 8, W – 5, L – 2, N/R – 1, Points – 11

Position in table: 3^rd 

Game remaining: vs England (July 3) 

What they must do: 

If they lose to England, they will have to hope Bangladesh beat India and lose to Pakistan. They will have to hope Pakistan do not win by a massive margin against Bangladesh while New Zealand do not suffer a heavy defeat to England. A win for the Kiwis seals their spot in the semi-final. 

England 

P – 8, W – 5 – L – 3, N/R – 0, Points – 10 

Position in table: 4^th 

Game remaining: vs New Zealand (July 3) 

What they must do: 

If England win, they will qualify. If they lose to New Zealand, they will have to hope Sri Lanka lose one of their remaining games and that Bangladesh lose to India and beat Pakistan. In that scenario, England can still qualify for the semi-final with 10 points. 

Pakistan 

P – 8, W – 4, L – 3, N/R – 1, Points – 9 

Position in table: 5^th 

Game remaining: vs Bangladesh (July 5) 

What they must do: 

If they beat Bangladesh, they will have to hope New Zealand beat England and that Bangladesh do not win against India. However, their poor net run-rate of -0.792 is a big problem and they will have to hope New Zealand suffer a big defeat against England and that they beat Bangladesh by a big margin. 

Bangladesh 

P – 7, W – 3, L – 3, N/R – 1, Points – 7 

Position in table: 6th 

Games remaining: vs India (July 2), vs Pakistan (July 5) 

What they must do: 

Both their games are now a must-win. If they lose one game, they will be knocked out of the tournament. 

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HIGHLIGHTS

• India are one win away from the semi-finals in 2019 World Cup.
• England won against India for the first time after 27 years.
• Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh face a must-win situation.