Is India out of T20 World Cup 2021: Can India still qualify for semi final of 2021 World Cup after New Zealand’s victory vs Afghanistan

Dixit Bhargav | 07/11/2021
Is India out of T20 World Cup 2021: Can India still qualify for semi final of 2021 World Cup after New Zealand's victory vs Afghanistan

Can India still qualify: A couple of losses first up pushed India in a position where they had to be dependent on other teams.

The result of the recently concluded New Zealand vs Afghanistan ICC T20 World Cup 2021 match in Abu Dhabi has converted the last two Super 12 matches into dead-rubbers as results of the same won’t affect the qualifying teams.

Afghanistan, who had to win at all costs to keep both their and India’s chances of semi-finals qualification alive, couldn’t even challenge New Zealand as well as they would have liked to irrespective of the result.

Chasing a below par 125-run target, New Zealand prospered on the back of an unbeaten match-winning 68-run partnership for the third wicket between captain Kane Williamson (40 not out) and wicket-keeper batter Devon Conway (36 not out) as the pair batted sensibly to seal the chase in the penultimate over.

Can India still qualify for ICC T20 World Cup 2021 semi-finals?

India, who have won and lost two matches each in the tournament, are at the third position on the points table. Slated to play against Namibia tomorrow, a mammoth Indian victory would’ve bettered their NRR (Net Run Rate). However, NRR would’ve only come into play had Afghanistan defeated New Zealand at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium today.

A loss for the Afghans has ruled out all possibilities of India qualifying for the semi-finals of this World Cup. Readers must note that India have been eliminated from the tournament and the result of their match against Namibia won’t aid them in qualifying for the next round.

Even if India beat Namibia convincingly, their two consecutive losses against Pakistan and New Zealand first up had made it near-impossible for them to finish in the Top Two. Given the strength of the current Indian team, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that this T20 World Cup has been their worst-ever.

Is there any chance for India to qualify?

No.

Post Edited By: Dixit Bhargav
Afghanistan ICC T20 World Cup 2021 India New Zealand

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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