Following Pakistan’s win against New Zealand in Bengaluru on Saturday, South Africa is second team to qualify for the World Cup 2023 semi-finals. The Proteas, who are second in the points standings with 12 points after winning six of their seven matches so far, have joined unbeaten India in qualifying for the tournament’s knockout stage. Pakistan, New Zealand, Australia, and Afghanistan all have eight points and are vying for a spot in the semi-finals.
South Africa is second team to qualify for World Cup semi-finals
After defeating defending champions England, Australia is ranked third on the points table with 10 points and will need to win their remaining two matches to ensure “guaranteed progression” to the next stage. Even if the Kangaroos lose one of their matches, they may still qualify for the semi-finals if their net run rate (NRR) is higher than the other two teams (Pakistan, Afghanistan, and New Zealand).
It should be remembered that in the 35th match of the ICC World Cup 2023, the Men in Green defeated New Zealand by 21 (DLS method) runs at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Despite the win, Pakistan’s path to the World Cup semi-finals remains difficult because they do not have matters in their own hands and must rely on the results of New Zealand and Afghanistan.
As much as Pakistan needs to beat England in Kolkata on November 11 and hope that Sri Lanka does their job against the Black Caps in Bengaluru on November 9, the Green Shirts need Afghanistan to lose one of their remaining two matches — against Australia and South Africa — or both (preferably) because Afghanistan, which is tied with Pakistan on eight points, has one more match in the tournament.
