New Delhi: ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 is in full swing and all 10 teams are trying their best to get their hands on the prestigious ODI World Champions title on 19th November.
With the tournament reaching its midpoint, the race for the semi finals is rapidly getting intense and teams are trying their best not to do anything that might push them away from the race of the knockouts.
So far in the Cricket World Cup 2023, a number of teams have performed exceptionally and have almost earned themselves a spot in the tournament’s next round.
On the other hand, there are also a few teams whose performance has so far remained disappointed throughout the multinational tournament and for the same reason, their chances of making a comeback and qualifying for the CWC 2023’s knockout stage are next to impossible.
However, they say that Cricket is a game of uncertainty and with half of the action-Packed tournament still left, one cannot completely rule out the possibility of bottom teams making a miraculous comback in the second half of the ICC tournament and geting qualified for its next round.
Today, we are going to discuss the qualification scenario for each and every team of the ICC CWC 2023 and determine their changes of reaching into the semi finals of the tournament.
1. England
The defending champions are in their worst form in the CWC 2023 and have lost 5 out of 6 games played so far.Their recent defeat by the hands of India brought them to the bottom of points table and their chances for going to the semi’s don’t exist anymore.
England are officially out of the race of ICC World Cup 2023 and even if they win their remaining matches with huge margin, they will still fell short of reaching 10 points which are necessary for qualifying for the knockout stage of the tournament.
The Three Lions can now only act as party spoilers for other team and try to win rest of their matches to make sure they quality for ICC’s next big event Champions Trophy 2025 which is scheduled to be held in Pakistan.
Current Position: 10th, Current Points: 02, Remaining Fixtures : ENG vs AUS, ENG vs NED and ENG Vs PAK.
2. Bangladesh
Over the years, Bangladeshi Cricket team has only disappointed it’s fans and always preformed below par in Big ICC event. Continuing the tradition, Bangladesh has failed drastically in CWC 2023 as well by loosing 5 back to back games after registering their sole victory against Afghanistan in their opening match of the tournament.
Their chances for qualifying for semi’s were next to impossible but they completely dimnished when the team received a crushing defeat by the hands of Netherlands in their latest World Cup encounter.
Bangladesh is currently positioned on the 9th position at the points table with an extremely bad run rate of -1. 33. They will now be eyeing for playing for pride by winning their remaining fixtures and spoiling the games of other teams.
However, even this won’t be easy for the Bangla Tigers as one of their remaining encounter is against the mighty Australian team against whom, they have never won in any World Cup match.
Current Position: 9th, Current Points: 02, Remaining Fixtures: Ban vs Pak , Ban vs Sl and Ban Vs Aus.
3. Netherlands
The dutch team’s Performance in the ICC World Cup has so far been excellent and they have kept their hopes for the semi’s alive by defeating two bigger teams (England and Bangladesh) against everyone’s expectation.
However, qualifying for semi-finals will still be a challenging task for them as to do so, they will have to win all of their remaining fixtures and hope for a few other results to go in their favour.
Current Position: 8th, Current Points: 04, Remaining Fixtures: NED vs AFG, NED vs ENG, NED vs IND
4. Afganistan
The Subcontinent team has a habit of punching above their weight and their convincing victory against two test playing nations (England and Pakistan) is a living example of that.
Afghanistan are currently sitting at 6th position on the points table and to get to the CWC 2023’s semi-finals, they will have to win rest of their remaining fixtures in the tournament to reach at 12 points and ensure their qualification.
However, as 2 of Afghanistan’s 4 remaining matches are against weaker teams (Sri Lanka and Netherlands), their chances of qualifying for the next stage of the tournament are very much alive and possible.
Current Position: 7th, Current Points: 04, Remaining Fixtures: AFG vs SL, AFG vs NED, AFG vs AUS, and AFG vs SA
5. Pakistan
Babar Azam’s Pakistani team, who started their World Cup 2023 campaign on a good note with a convincing win over Netherlands and a Historical Chase against Sri Lanka lost momentum ever since their defeat at the hands of India on 14th October in Narendra Modi Stadium.
Post the crushing defeat, the men in green lost both their game sense and form which resulted in them losing 4 back to back matches in the tournament.
Currently sitting at 6th position in the points table, Pakistan’s chances for reaching the Semi-finals are doomed and even a victory in all of their remaining fixtures won’t guarantee them a ticket into the next round of the multi-national tournament.
So Practically, Babar & Co. is more or less out of the ICC World Cup 2023 race and will now only be playing to restore their pride and regain the lost support of their fans.
Current Position: 6th, Current Points: 04, Remaining Fixtures: PAK vs BAN, PAK vs NZ and PAK vs ENG
6. Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka recently crushed England and kept their hopes for qualifying in the tournament’s knockout stage alive. They are currently in the 5th Position and if they want to go ahead in the tournament, they will have to win all their remaining matches and reach 12 points.
Besides that, the Lankan Lions will also have to improve their run rate as it can be a determining factor for qualifications in case two or more teams end up with the same points by the end of the World Cup 2023 league stage.
Current Position: 5th, Current Points: 04, Remaining Fixtures: SL vs AFG, Sl vs IND, SL vs BAN and SL vs NZ ENG
7. Australia
Australia is the most successful team in ODI cricket and has clinched the ODI World Cup title 5 times. While the baggy green team is already known for playing fearless cricket, their performance reaches a whole different different in the ICC tournaments.
After starting their World Cup quest with two huge defeats at the hands of India and South Africa, the mighty Aussies bounced back at the right time with 4 consecutive victories and are now in a convincing positive for qualifying for tournaments next stage.
With 4 wins in their 6 matches, Australia is currently poised in 4th position on the points table and a victory in just 2 of their remaining 6 games from here will make their entry into the semi-finals official.
Out of these 3 games, 2 are against weaker teams (Afghanistan and Bangladesh) so Australia’s qualification for the Semi-Finals is a very likely scenario.
Current Position: 4th, Current Points: 08, Remaining Fixtures: AUS vs ENG, AUS vs AFG, and AUS vs BAN.
8. New Zealand
The black caps are dark horses of the ICC tournaments who consistently do good in the league stages to reach the knockout stage.
IN CWC 2023, they started of well by winning 4 back to back matches but suffered a major blow after India and Australia handed them over two back to back defeats. Despite that, New Zealand are still in a good position for qualifying in the tournament’s Semi Final stage as they currently have 8 points with an impressive net run of
For ensuring their Spot in ICC ODI World Cup’s semi finals for third consecutive time, Kane Williamson’s team will now have to win at least 2 of their remaining 3 games out of which, the one against South Africa will trouble them the most as the green and gold team is currently in its red hot form .
Current Position:3rd, Current Points: 08 Remaining fixtures: NZ vs SA, NZ vs PAK, and NZ vs SL
9. South Africa
The team in green and gold registered their fifth win in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 by defeating Pakistan by 1 wicket in a nail-biter close encounter at Chenni’s MA Chidambaram Stadium.
They are now right on the verge of qualifications and even a single victory from here will almost guarantee them a spot in the Semis.
Interestingly, even if the South African team loses all their remaining matches from here, their chances for qualifying for the next round still won’t diminish as they currently have a better net run rate than the rest of the 9 teams.
However, Bavuma’s side most likely won’t let it happen and would like to go ahead in the tournament by registering victory in at least 2 of its remaining 3 games.
Current Position: 2nd, Curruet Points: 10, Remaining Fixtures: SA vs NZ, SA vs IND, and SA vs AFG
10. India
India is the only undefeated side in the CWC 2023 and has so far registered 6 convincing victories in the tournament. The hosts are also sitting at the top of the points table with 12 points and a decent net run rate of +1. 405.
Although India’s chances for qualifying for the semis are already confirmed, the men in blue will eye for reaching the semis unbeaten by winning in their remaining 3 games.
As 2 out of these 3 games are against comparatively weaker sides Sri Lanka and Netherlands, India should not ideally have trouble defeating them and remaining on the peek of the points table by the end of the tournament’s league stage.
Current Position: 1st, Current Points: 12 Remaining Fixtures: IND vs SL, IND vs SA, and IND vs NED
