World Cup semis chances: What happens if NZ vs PAK washed out in Bengaluru?

There are chances of rain washing out the New Zealand versus Pakistan Cricket World Cup 2023 match in Bengaluru on Saturday, November 4. Here's how the semi-final qualification scenarios change

Pakistan fans and cricketers alike will be shivering, not because of the cold in Bengaluru but because of the fear that the worst turns out to be true for them as the rain gods might play spoilsport in their International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup 2023 clash against New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

It rained heavily on November 3 in the city, and the AccuWeather forecast for November 4 says that the South Indian city in Karnataka will have thunderstorms at 2 pm and 5 pm Indian Standard Time (IST). With the cloudy weather predicted to persist throughout the day, a full match is a difficult possibility in Bengaluru. Since it is a day game, the match would start at 10:30 am IST, but for how long it will go uninterrupted, it is hard to say.

Pakistan’s chance of semi-finals qualification might end
 

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If the match gets washed out, Pakistan will get one point, and so will New Zealand. Pakistan is on six points, and New Zealand are on eight ahead of the game. With one point each, they will have seven and nine points, respectively. In that regard, Pakistan would then have to not only win their last league match against England but also hope that New Zealand is beaten by Sri Lanka by a large margin in their last match as well. Not only that, they would also pray for Australia’s win against Afghanistan as well.

Afghanistan would have the biggest advantage

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After their win against the Netherlands in Lucknow on November 3, Afghanistan have eight points, and with two matches to go, will be the most suited to go through to the semi-final on their own. Since New Zealand could only get to 11 points at most after the Bengaluru game gets washed out, all Afghanistan would need is to win in both their matches against Australia and South Africa, and they will finish on 12 points and qualify for the semi-final. Thus, a no-result in New Zealand versus Pakistan will mean Afghanistan will have their future in their own hands.

What about other teams?

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Among other teams, if the New Zealand versus Pakistan match in Bengaluru gets abandoned, South Africa will qualify even before playing their last two league games, as only two more teams could get to 12 points. As for Australia, they would be playing England on November 4 as well. So, even if they lose to England, they will have a great chance of moving ahead by winning their next two matches, without worrying about net run rate, as New Zealand, who have a better net run rate compared to Australia, would only be able to get to 11 points, while the Aussies could get to 12 points even after the England loss, as they would have eight points in the kitty while playing their next two games against Afghanistan and Bangladesh.