New Delhi: Afghanistan marks the end of the first half of the ICC World Cup 2023 with a huge 8 wickets victory over their neighbours Pakistan by 8 wickets on Monday.
Afghanistan’s win not only took them 4 spots up from the bottom of the table to number 6, but it also stopped Pakistan from reclaiming the top 4 spots and sinking the defending champions England further at the bottom of the table, making their life even more miserable.
Afghanistan, who is now at the number 6 spot with 4 points, have a realistic chance of making it to the top 4 if they win at least 3 of their 4 upcoming matches.
Check out the points table below:
| Rank | Teams | M | W | L | N/R | Points | Net RR |
| 1 | India | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 | +1.35 |
| 2 | New Zealand | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | +1.48 |
| 3 | South Africa | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | +2.21 |
| 4 | Australia | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | -0.19 |
| 5 | Pakistan | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | -0.40 |
| 6 | Afghanistan | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | -0.96 |
| 7 | Bangladesh | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | -0.78 |
| 8 | Netherland | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | -0.79 |
| 9 | Sri Lanka | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | -1.04 |
| 10 | England | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | -1.24 |
Semifinal race
Despite another huge upset pulled by Afghanistan on Monday and making the race for the top 4 even more heated, there were no actual changes in the top 4, with all 4 teams retaining their exact spots at the upper half of the table.
India is holding the top spot with an iron fist as they have a perfect 10 points from the 5 matches they have played so far. They have sailed away with the win easily in all the matches except their last one against the New Zealand team, where they had to work a little extra to secure their 4-wicket victory. India will also have a long gap to rest after their hard work as they will play their next match against the defending champions, England on Sunday, October 29.
Record breaking performance as Team India defeats #NewZealand in a World Cup match after 20 years! 🇮🇳
Kudos to @MdShami11 for his wonderful comeback with 5 wickets and Virat Kohli @imVkohli for the superb chase! #INDvsNZ #CWC23 pic.twitter.com/5onB7boygY
— Rajeev Chandrasekhar 🇮🇳 (@Rajeev_GoI) October 22, 2023
The New Zealand team slips to the number 2 spot after their loss against the hosts India but is still going strong in the final 4 race with 8 points in 5 matches and will be trying to confirm their semi-final berth in the upcoming matches.
Despite a shocking defeat against the Netherlands, the South African team is still holding their third spot tightly with 6 points in more matches. They can even jump one spot up to number 2 if they can beat Bangladesh on Tuesday, with a convincing margin.
The number 4 team at the points table currently is the five-time champion Australia, but this is the position that can see many changes in the upcoming matches, and the Aussies will try to avoid it at any cost with back-to-back wins.
The lower teams on charge
The teams in the lower half of the table are making their move for the top 4 race, as on Monday, we saw the Afghanistan team coming out of nowhere to prove their contention for the top 4 with a win over Pakistan, and as they already have a win over England before and their next two matches are against Netherlands and Sri Lanka, they might just slip in by pulling one more upset.
And that moment….
❤️🇦🇫#PAKvsAFG #AFGvPAK #CWC2023 #BrandedFeatures #BabarAzam𓃵 #RashidKhan #PKMKBForever #HappyDussehra2023 #विजयादशमी pic.twitter.com/jVaCEOtQ0Y— MINI (@Jeevanyeli50591) October 24, 2023
England and Pakistan need to shift their gears and win all their upcoming matches to qualify, if not, they will be left well behind all the other teams, marking the end of their campaign at the ICC World Cup 2023.
