India are staring at an early exit after suffering their second successive loss in the the Super 12 stage of the Twenty20 World Cup. The eight-wicket defeat at the hands of New Zealand on Sunday has virtually knocked India out of the semifinal race from the six-team Group 2.
However, the Men in Blue still have a remote chance of qualifying for the knockout phase. India's lone hope is to win all their remaining matches by big margins and then hope that the Kiwis lose against either Scotland, Namibia or Afghanistan.
India next meet Afghanistan in a must-win tie in Dubai on Wednesday. If Virat Kohli & Co. lose that game then it's curtain for them. India take on Scotland on Friday and then face Namibia in their final Super 12 match next Monday (November 8).
For New Zealand, the equation is simple. If they win their next three games, they are assured of a place in the semifinals. The Black Caps play Scotland (Wednesday), Namibia (Friday) and then wind up their Super 12 campaign against the Afghans on Sunday.
Pakistan, who have won all three of their games so far, are sitting pretty with six points. Babar Azam's side faces relatively weaker teams in Namibia and Scotland and look good to top the group with an all-win record.
Afghanistan also are in with a big chance of making it to the semifinals. A win over New Zealand or India could take them to their maiden semifinals on the global stage since they have a high net run rate (+3.097) as compared to the Kiwis (+0.765) and India (-1.609).
If the teams are tied on points, net run rate will come into play. The Indian fans would be hoping against hope that Kohli and Co. can pull off a miracle.
