T20 World Cup: Could Afghanistan give India & New Zealand the slip to qualify for semis?

The race for qualification in Group 2 of the ICC T20 World Cup is heating up with all three contenders - India, Afghanistan, and New Zealand, hoping to make it to the knockout stage. New Zealand, however, are the favourites to qualify as they are scheduled to meet lower-ranked Afghanistan in their last game of the Super 12 stage.

India will require Afghanistan to beat New Zealand in a close contest match in order to qualify for the semi-finals. For Afghanistan to advance to the next stage, the Mohammed Nabi-led side will have to beat New Zealand comprehensively and hope for India to beat Namibia only by the barest of margins, or even better, lose to the minnows. 

How can Afghanistan overtake India and New Zealand? 

Afghanistan are currently placed 4th in the points table, courtesy of two wins in four matches. India have also won just two games and have two points, but are ahead of Afghanistan because of a superior net run rate. Afghanistan are all set to lock horns against New Zealand in their last game of the group stage.

If New Zealand win the match, Afghanistan and India will be out of the race and the Kiwis will qualify as they are already second in the points table with six points. 

However, if Afghanistan manage to defeat New Zealand and India lose to Namibia, the Mohammed Nabi-led side will make it to the second spot in the points table and qualify for the semi-final because of their superior net run rate to the Blackcaps.

If Afghanistan register a comprehensive victory over the Kiwis and India win their clash against Namibia by only a small margin, then the Afghans will make it to the knockout stage. In both scenarios, the success rate for Afghanistan is very slim because it is unlikely that Namibia will beat India and New Zealand will lose to Afghanistan by a big margin. 

Afghanistan and New Zealand will lock horns against each other in match 40 of the ICC T20 World Cup on November 7. The match will take place at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The game will be closely watched by India, who will be whole-heartedly rooting for Afghanistan's victory.

Image: T20WorldCup/ICC