The Super 12 game between Australia and England in T20 World Cup 2022 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday was deemed a virtual ‘knockout’ contest for both teams. But persistent rain at the stadium resulted in the match being abandoned without a ball being bowled. Earlier in the day, the Afghanistan vs Ireland match was also washed out due to rain. As a result, Group 1 remains wide open for any of the 6 teams to qualify.
However, the hosts Australia, are in for a tricky period because of their Net Run Rate. As things stand, Australia has the worst net Run Rate of all in Group 1, owing to their heavy loss against New Zealand in the opening game. In 3 matches, Australia has 1 win, 1 loss, and 1 No-result.
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New Zealand and England, the two favorites to go through at the moment, have a pretty healthy NRR of +4.450 and +0.239 respectively. In terms of points, there’s barely any difference between the 6 teams. New Zealand, England, Australia, and Ireland sit on 3 points each while Sri Lanka and Afghanistan have earned 2 points each so far.
Group 1 Remaining Fixtures
- New Zealand: Sri Laka, England, and Ireland
- England: New Zealand and Sri Lanka
- Australia: Ireland and Afghanistan
- Ireland: Australia and New Zealand
- Sri Lanka: New Zealand, Afghanistan, and England
- Afghanistan: Sri Lanka and Australia
Who are the favorites to qualify?
New Zealand seems to be the certainty to reach the playoffs, owing to their extremely healthy Net Run Rate. Even if the Aussies win their remaining two matches, they will be booking their seat in the semi-finals. The Aussies, however, will have a bigger chance of qualification if New Zealand wins all of their remaining matches, especially the one against England.
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For England, they have to win their remaining two games which is pretty likely and that’ll be enough for them to qualify. But Sri Lanka does have a better NRR than England at this point in time. If Sri Lanka wins 2 of their remaining three matches, they might just pip England for a spot in the semi-finals because of their superior Net Run Rate.
For Ireland and Afghanistan, qualification seems a lot trickier, both because of their remaining fixtures and NRR.
