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- Published: October 31, 2023 12:23
New Delhi: Two-thirds of the ICC World Cup 2023, is over, and despite a few teams being almost knocking down the doors of the semifinal qualifications, no one has yet been able to open the gate.
India and South Africa are in the lead, and with one more win will be able to make their way to round two.
Bangladesh and the defending champions, England, have the lowest probability of making it to the top 4, and would rather be focusing on the Champions Trophy 2025 qualification.
The top 7 teams, except Pakistan, will get the qualification for the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan, and at the current moment, England and Bangladesh have the most amount of work to do for the qualification based on the points table.
Check out the complete points table below:
| Rank | Teams | M | W | L | N/R | Points | Net RR |
| 1 | India | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 12 | +1.40 |
| 2 | South Africa | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 10 | +2.03 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 8 | +1.23 |
| 4 | Australia | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 8 | +0.97 |
| 5 | Afghanistan | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | -0.71 |
| 6 | Sri Lanka | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | -0.27 |
| 7 | Pakistan | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | -0.38 |
| 8 | Netherland | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | -1.27 |
| 9 | Bangladesh | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | -1.33 |
| 10 | England | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | -1.65 |
Final four race
The final four, despite not being official, is expected to remain the same in the end as for it to change, the teams from the bottom half will need extreme luck to pull off a heist and steal the semifinal qualification.
The hosts India, at the current moment, is at the top of the points table as they are the only undefeated team, having won all 6 of their 6 matches so far. They have a perfect 12 points, and even though not officially, they have more than enough points to qualify for the semifinals. The men in blue also made sure that the World Cup will get a new champion as they defeated the defending champions, England, by 100 runs on Sunday, almost to ensure their exit from the World Cup.
Another big win for #TeamIndia ! @ImRo45 played a crucial knock which was the demand of the situation. Excellent contributions by @surya_14kumar, @Jaspritbumrah93, @MdShami11 & @imkuldeep18.
One more step closer to the Cup. #WorldCup2023 #IndiaVsEngland @BCCI pic.twitter.com/HseGK9ti6K— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) October 29, 2023
The second position is secured for the South African team with 10 points from 6 games, having lost only one game. They can confirm their top 4 finish on Wednesday when they will face third-ranked New Zealand in match number 32.
Crowd craze at Chepauk when Keshav Maharaj hits winning four to beat Pakistan. #PAKvsSA #PAKvSApic.twitter.com/KMaBzjsqvG
— Rizwan 🇮🇳 (@Rizwan18Cricket) October 27, 2023
The Kiwis, who were at one time at the top of the points table with 4 out of 4 wins, slipped to number 3 after back-to-back losses and have a realistic chance of not making it to the final four, as they have their upcoming matches against South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and if they fail to win any of the matches they can be replaced in the top 4.
Ball 5 : full toss. Neesham misses . Gets run out. Brilliant keeping by inglis there.
Big chance missed to script history. pic.twitter.com/QaJchLjvXy
— Basra!!!! (@basrasahab) October 28, 2023
The Aussies have found their rhythm after a struggling start and are now on a four-match winning streak. They are at the number 4 spot in the points table but are expected to get the ‘Q’ as they have comparatively easy fixtures ahead of the black caps.
Four wins in a row!
Great to have Travis Head back and always nice to get one over the Kiwis! #CWC23 pic.twitter.com/qgOEZkb7Vx
— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) October 28, 2023
The bottom half fired up
To everyone’s surprise, after 30 matches are done in the ICC World Cup 2023, the team with the most realistic chance of making it to the top four from the bottom half of the table is the team from Afghanistan.
Afghanistan players thanking the crowd #CWC23
🔼They did in Chennai when they Beat Afghanistan and now today in Pune vs Srilanka
⭐️Indian Fans support them till eternity#SLvsAFG #AFGvsL pic.twitter.com/q8B8VnWQ3s pic.twitter.com/TOlvZ0qC8o— ICT Fan (@Delphy06) October 30, 2023
Afghanistan defeated Sri Lanka by 7 wickets on Monday, and have registered their third win in the tournament, and are now the fifth-placed team with 6 points under their belt. They need to win two of their three matches and a little help from the other teams to make it to the final four.
All the other teams have more or less finished their hope of making it to the top 4 and are only hanging by the thread of extreme hope now.