Pakistan World Cup 2023 Semi Final chance over: What is the status of Afghanistan?

In the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka, the New Zealand team reached the target of 172 runs set by Sri Lanka and won in 23.2 overs. The win virtually ended Pakistan’s semi-final chances. Pakistan will play against England next and only if they win the match they can advance to the semi-finals.

That’s because Pakistan and Afghanistan, who are currently on 8 points, have a much lower net run rate than New Zealand. So, it will not be enough for Pakistan and Afghanistan to win their last league match. New Zealand’s net run rate should be overtaken. Currently, the New Zealand team has a net run rate of 0.743.

Pakistan team has a net run rate of 0.036 and Afghanistan team has a net run rate of -0.338. So, only if the Pakistan team wins by a big margin, they will get a semi-final chance. For example, in their last league match, England were bowled out in 50 overs, and then Pakistan achieved the target in 2.3 overs, only to have a semi-final chance.

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The England team has played poorly in this World Cup 2023 series but has won the last match. They will try to finish in the top eight on the points table and qualify for the Champions Trophy series. Also, Ben Stokes is back in form after scoring a century in the last match. So, even if Pakistan beat England, going to the semi-finals is unlikely.

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The Afghanistan team is in a worse position than this. No matter what they do, New Zealand’s net run rate cannot be exceeded in a single match as that team has a negative net run rate. And so, Afghanistan’s semi-final dream ended also if they win against South Africa (Afghanistan vs South Africa).