With England’s win over New Zealand, Group 1 is looking all set for a tight finish. The first group which is also known as the ‘group of death’ with heavyweights Australia, England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka, looks inseparable after England beat New Zealand in the latest encounter at Brisbane.
Earlier it was Kane Williamson led Kiwis who were the clear favourites to top the group, although they still are, but England and Australia’s respective wins ensured that they close the gap with Blackcaps.
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Three teams (New Zealand, England and Australia) are now tied on five points, each with one match to play and only separated on Net RR in that order.
But Who has the Edge?
Surely, New Zealand because of their superior net run rate(+2.233) after beating Australia by a margin of 89 runs. They can only be eliminated if they lose by a huge margin to Ireland in their final group match.
What Happens if Eng, NZ and Australia—all three win their final group match?
Well, then it will boil down to the Net Run Rate (NRR). Here, it must be mentioned that Australia has the worst among the three-(-0.304). Therefore, the Aaron Finch side will have to register a humungous win over Afghanistan and then set a marker for England who play the next day. However, they have a stiff competitor against Sri Lanka who won’t make it easy for Jos Buttler-led side.
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Should Australia fail to catch England (+0.547) and New Zealand (+2.233) on run rate then both of those sides will know that victory by any margin in their respective final matches will send them into the semi-finals.
What Happens to Ireland and Sri Lanka?
Ireland are still alive numerically. But they would need a huge margin of win and then two other results to go their way to finish in the top two. Sri Lanka could yet qualify. A win over England in the last game of the group would see them into the semi-finals should one of New Zealand or Australia have lost the day before.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan were the first team to be mathematically denied a semi-final spot, with their loss to Sri Lanka leaving them on just two points from four games.
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