India revived its semi-final hopes with a thumping 72 run win over Zimbabwe on Thursday. The Men in Blue also took a sigh of relief because South Africa defeated West Indies in the other game making India’s qualification scenario relatively easier. Now the spotlight shifts to India’s virtual quarterfinal game against the Windies on Sunday.
The equation is very simple for India. With no Net Run Rate (NRR) complications, India just have to win against the Caribbean side to book a ticket into the final four. But, a washout can make things difficult for Gautam Gambhir and his side. If the game is washed out due to rain, both India and West Indies will share spoils and will get a point each.
Both teams will be on level terms with three points each, but West Indies will go through because of their superior NRR. India have a NRR of (-0.100) while the Windies boast an NRR of (+1.791). There is a huge difference between the NRRs of both the teams and therefore India will pray to the cricketing gods to avoid any drop of water across the eastern coast.
Well the good news is that there are not many chances of rain in the City of Joy tomorrow. The highest expected temperature is 33 degrees celsius and lowest will be 23 degrees celsius. Humidity is expected to be at 45% while the chances of rain stand at 10%. As things stand, it is going to be a sunny day at the Eden Garden tomorrow and the game is not getting washed out either.
Just in case, the game is washed out, India will look back to the game against Zimbabwe with regret. India were in full control of the game and could have won the game by a bigger margin than 72 runs had skipper Suryakumar Yadav chosen anyone other than Shivam Dube to bowl two of the last three overs where he conceded 46 runs in total.
