New Delhi: The picture for the final 4 spots of the ICC World Cup 2023 has started to clear up, with South Africa rampaging their way to the second spot, making their way to the final more comfortable going forward in the tournament.
The half of the tournament is already over, and all the teams are looking more than ready to go all-in for the spot in the semifinals, and with Afghanistan winning their match against Pakistan, the race has been set wide open and with practically all the teams still in the picture of that spot, upcoming matches are promised to be intense.
Check out the full points table:
| Rank | Teams | M | W | L | N/R | Points | Net RR |
| 1 | India | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 | +1.35 |
| 2 | South Africa | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | +2.30 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | +1.48 |
| 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 | Netherland | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | -0.79 |
| 8 | Sri Lanka | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | -1.04 |
| 9 | England | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | -1.24 |
| 10 | Bangladesh | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | -1.25 |
Race for the semi-finals
Despite all the ups and downs at the points table, three teams at the moment seem to have their one leg already into the knockout matches, and the remaining one is open for all the rest of the 7 teams.
After the halfway mark, the hosts India, being the only undefeated side in the tournament, hold the top spot with 10 points in 5 matches. India is still to play 4 more matches, and if they manage to win at least 2 of those, that might be more than enough for the men in blue to seal the semi-final’s birth.
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
South Africa, despite their loss to the Netherlands, has been dominant throughout the tournament by racking up huge wins against every opponent they faced. They jumped one spot at number 2 on Tuesday after their win against Bangladesh, replacing New Zealand with a superior net run rate.
🔝 De Kock’s CWC best
📈 Highest net run rate
🤯 Klaasen’s stunning strike rateThe numbers behind South Africa’s #CWC23 dominance 💥
— ICC (@ICC) October 25, 2023
New Zealand, who were dominating the tournament at one point, has slipped to the number 3 spot with 8 points in 5 matches. However, the black caps’ journey is far from over, as 2 or 3 wins in their remaining matches can easily see them making it out to the next round.
Australia, who are at the 4th spot at the moment with 4 points in 4 matches, are the most vulnerable one in the top 4 with a huge gap with the teams above him and not a huge gap with the teams below him. However, a win against the Netherlands on Wednesday might just keep them afloat for the time being.
Australia look for their third straight win or will the Netherlands spring another surprise at #CWC23? 🤔#AUSvNED pic.twitter.com/H2UK9wqJdn
— ICC (@ICC) October 25, 2023
Time to gear up
England, Pakistan and Afghanistan are in dire need and must start stacking up wins if they wish to qualify for the semifinals before it’s too late.