India will be counting on their lucky stars now if they wish to secure qualification to the semi-finals, as the Women in Blue fell to Australia in a thriller of an encounter by a mere 9 runs.
With their loss, India have now registered just 2 wins out of a possible 4, leaving them hanging on to the coveted second-place spot with 4 points, getting the better of New Zealand, who have also secured 2 wins out of 3 so far, by a slender margin in the NRR.
India lost their campaign opener against the White Ferns by 58 runs to trail in the semi-final race. Back-to-back wins against Pakistan and Sri Lanka helped put them back on track but, they were dealt with a a massive blow facing defending champions Australia, who got the better of them in a nail-biting thriller that went down to the last over.
The crushing loss delivers a devastating blow to India’s semi-final hopes, as their fate now lies in the hands of New Zealand and arch-rivals Pakistan, who will face off in the final match of Group A on Monday.
New Zealand lie in third place with 4 points, same as India, with a final match in hand. Pakistan, on the other hand, lie in fourth place with just 2 points.
Here are the possible scenarios of qualification in Group A:
Scenario 1: If New Zealand win against Pakistan in any manner, then India will be knocked out of the tournament.
Scenario 2: If Pakistan win in tremnendous fashion, outoding the NRR of both New Zealand and India, then Pakistan will tip over India to take the semi-final spot.
Scenario 3: If Pakistan win, but not by a considerable margin, then India, New Zealand and Pakistan will be tied on 4 points each. But, India, who possess the higher NRR shall progress to the semi-finals.
Under the pump after the heavy loss to New Zealand and an underwhelming win over Pakistan, India’s hammering of Sri Lanka massively boosted their net run rate, elevating them to the second spot in Group A.
But, the crushing defeat to Australia has once again dented their NRR, bringing it down to +0.322, as New Zealand lurks in the shadows with a NRR of +0.282.
The only hope for India to make the semi final lies in the hands of Pakistan ironically.
India would be in the running for the second spot only if the White Ferns suffer a loss against Pakistan.
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