India suffered a heavy defeat against South Africa in their first Super 8 match and now they are in deep trouble. India are grouped along with South Africa, West Indies and Zimbabwe. The 76-run loss against South Africa in the previous match has dented their NRR and now they have a net run rate of -3.8. India will be playing Zimbabwe on 26th February and later go on to play West Indies on March 1. This is a tricky group and India will need to bounce back. After the loss to South Africa, they will need a lot of things to go their way to qualify for the semis. In this article we will look at how India can still qualify for semi-finals.
Scenario 1
South Africa to win their remaining two matches.
India has to win both their remaining matches against Zimbabwe and West Indies.
This is the best possible scenario for India currently as if this happens, India will go to the semis as the second placed team and net run rate will be totally out of equation.
Scenario 2
South Africa lose to West Indies and beat Zimbabwe
West Indie beat South Africa and Zimbabwe but lose to India
India wins both their matches.
In this scenario all three teams, South Africa, West Indies and India will be tied on 4 points and things will come down to NRR and India currently have a poor NRR so they need to ensure wins are big enough to nullify it.
Scenario 3
Zimbabwe to beat West Indies and lose to South Africa
India to win their remaining two matches
India and South Africa will qualify for the semi-finals if this happens.
Scenario 4
South Africa lose to West Indies and Zimbabwe
India to win their remaining two matches.
This is the least likely scenario considering the recent form of South Africa but India can qualify if this happens.
India are the defending champions from the 2024 WT20 and despite the loss in the first game their fate is so far in their own hands and they will need to focus on winning the next two games by a good margin and the rest is out of their control.
