With Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul putting on a great show with the bat, India bounced back in style at the T20 World Cup in the match against Afghanistan played at Abu Dhabi.
India started off their campaign with two back to back losses against Pakistan and New Zealand respectively. All seemed lost for India before Wednesday when they came back to their best, smashing Afghanistan bowlers all round the park to register 210/2, the highest total so far in the tournament.
In reply, Afghanistan could only manage 144 and lost the game by 66 runs. As a result, India's Net Run Rate (NRR) came into positive figures, giving them a thin chance to still make it to semis.
However, not for forget, New Zealand beat Scotland on the same day to clinch their second win of the Super 12s.
Hence, the race for qualifications has intensified in this group.
After yesterday's matches:
Pakistan have already qualified with four wins in four games. NRR is +1.065
Afghanistan remain second on the table with 2 wins and 2 losses from 4 games. NRR is +1.481
New Zealand are at third with two wins and one loss from three games. NRR is +0.816
India are at fourth with just one win from three games. NRR is +0.073
Nambia have won one game out three they have played. NRR is -1.600
Scotland are winless with NRR of -2.645. They are the only team in this group who cannot go through.
Pakistan have sealed one spot. New Zealand, Afghanistan, India and Namibia are still in race.
How can India qualify?
For India to qualify, they will hope that New Zealand lose to Afghanistan and they beat Scotland and Namibia by huge margins. Winning big matters as in this scenario, India, Afghanistan and New Zealand will all be at six points and the team with a better NRR will go through. So, if New Zealand lose to Afghanistan and India win big, their NRR should exceed that of Black Caps and Afghanistan.
Another scenario is that India would want New Zealand to lose to Namibia and beat Afghanistan by a relatively less margin. If India win big against Scotland and Namibia, it will take them past both New Zealand and Afghanistan on NRR.
