Wasim Jaffer reveals the two teams who will qualify for the semi-finals from Group A.
On Tuesday (November 1), England prevailed against New Zealand in a pivotal matchup that was part of the Twenty20 World Cup 2022 to improve their prospects of advancing to the semi-final round. As a result of their five points earned from the first four games of the Super 12 Group 1 competition, England is presently in the second position in the standings. Even though they only have five points, New Zealand continues to dominate the top slot because of their outstanding net run rate.
Australia, the country that is hosting the tournament is currently in third place with five points but a negative net run rate. All three of these teams will now compete against one another for the top two slots, which will allow them to advance to the semi-final stage with only one game remaining. England will face a difficult test from another contender, Sri Lanka, while New Zealand will compete against Ireland. Australia will take on Afghanistan, which is now in the last position.
It is anticipated that New Zealand will defeat Ireland with relative ease, whilst England and Australia need decisive victories in their next matches to improve their respective net run rates. Wasim Jaffer, a former Indian batter, thinks that Australia’s loss to New Zealand by 89 runs in their first match would affect them, and he predicts that England and New Zealand will advance from Group 1.
Wasim Jaffer said in the live BatBricks7 Run Ki RunNeeti show on Crictracker after the match between England and New Zealand: “I think that Australia’s loss to New Zealand by 89 runs in their first match will hurt them a lot since their net run rate is still low. Even if all three teams (Australia, England, and New Zealand) win their last game, and if one of them wins by a huge margin, England and New Zealand will still advance.”
The final Group 1 matches for New Zealand and Australia are slated to take place on November 4, while England will take on Sri Lanka the following day, on November 5. Jaffer emphasised that England will face a difficult test against Sri Lanka, but that they will have a significant edge in the matchup since it will take place after the games played by Australia and New Zealand.
