When New Zealand beat England by a very convincing margin of more than 23 overs, they had not only qualified for the semi-finals, but also topped the group. Because of this, they will now play the second placed team from the group A, whereas England will need to play the top team from Group A. However, there is no clear visibility on which team will join Pakistan in the semi-finals, and which of the two sides will actually top the group.
For starters, the first game of the last day of league matches will see the Aussies taking on the Pakistanis. In the second game, India will face West Indies. Now, for starters, if Australia manage to beat Pakistan, then the second game between India and West Indies will be deemed as inconsequential. This will be because both, Australia (5) and Pakistan (4) will have more points than India, even if the Indians manage to beat the West Indies, which will take them to 3 points. In this case, England will have the misfortune of playing the Aussies in the semi finals, whereas New Zealand will be up against Pakistan at Wanderers.
In case, the game between Australia and Pakistan is rained off, then again, India will be ousted and Australia (4) and Pakistan (5) will go through to the semi-finals. However, in this case, Australia will face New Zealand, whereas England will be up against Pakistan in the semi-finals.
In case, Australia loses to the Pakistan, then they will end with 3 points, whereas Pakistan will go into the semi-finals with an all-win record of 6 points. Pakistan, in that case, will face England, but it will not be clear till after the India-West Indies game, who will face New Zealand. Because, if West Indies then beat India or the match is rained off, then Australia and New Zealand will face off again. However, if India beat West Indies in this case, then both, India and Australia will be tied at three points each. This will mean that the net run rate will be used to decide which team goes through to the semi-finals. If India finish on a better net run rate than Australia, then India will face New Zealand in what will be a repeat of their warm-up game, while if Australia ends with a superior net run rate, then the Trans-Tasman rivalry will resume in the semi-finals!
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