Afghanistan’s batters Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai celebrate after winning the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 match against Netherlands, at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. (PTI Photo)

World Cup: Why Afghanistan’s win makes New Zealand-Pakistan game more significant in the semifinals race

Afghanistan’s facile win over the Netherlands gave another boost to their dreams of making the semifinals. They now sit in the fifth spot on the points table and are out of the top four for now just on the basis of net run rate (NRR). Their fate is in their own hands, though their remaining two games are against Australia and South Africa, who are in the top three at the moment.

The Dutch remain on four points with games against England and India to come. Even if they win both their games and Afghanistan lose their last two fixtures, the wide disparity in NRR may be too much to overcome, especially as there are several other teams better placed on the points table than them.

Afghanistan’s win makes Saturday’s day game between New Zealand and Pakistan all the more significant, especially for the latter who now find themselves below Afghanistan. A win for the Kiwis will not only end a three-game losing streak but also give a big fillip to their semifinal hopes, putting the onus on Afghanistan to win at least one of their two matches coming up. (READ MORE)

First published on: 04-11-2023 at 09:03 IST