October 11, 2024

Qualification Scenarios: India Makes a Comeback

 Group A in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, often called the “group of death,” has proven to be just that. New Zealand’s early victory over India created a stir, but recent events have kept the race for qualification exciting. Unfortunately, Sri Lanka has been eliminated after losing all three of their matches. Meanwhile, India has climbed back into contention by improving their Net Run Rate (NRR). Following India’s impressive 82-run win over Sri Lanka, the standings are starting to stabilize.

Check out: Delhi Victory Highlights the Firm Establishment of Fearless Batting in Indian Cricket

Remaining fixtures:

Australia

If Australia wins both of their remaining matches, they will secure the top spot in Group A. If they defeat Pakistan but lose to India, they can still qualify without relying on Net Run Rate (NRR), provided New Zealand loses one of their two matches. Conversely, if Australia beats India but loses to Pakistan, they will still qualify based on points. In this scenario, only the winner of the New Zealand-Pakistan match could reach six points.

India

India made a strong comeback by defeating Sri Lanka, which significantly improved their Net Run Rate (NRR). However, if both Australia and New Zealand win all their remaining matches, India will be eliminated. If India beats Australia on Sunday, a three-way tie with six points could occur between Australia, India, and New Zealand, provided Australia defeats Pakistan and New Zealand wins both of their remaining games. If India wins against Australia by five runs, New Zealand would need to win their matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka by a combined margin of 42 runs to surpass India’s NRR, assuming each team scores 130 runs batting first. In this case, Australia would still qualify as group toppers, even if they defeat Pakistan in a Super Over.

New Zealand

New Zealand has lost some of the ground they gained against India after being defeated by Australia. Their best chance is to win both remaining matches, reaching six points, while hoping that Australia remains unbeaten. New Zealand benefits from facing relatively weaker opponents, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, compared to India, who must take on the defending champions, Australia. Additionally, the White Ferns will play the last match of the group.

If there’s a three-way tie at six points with Australia and India, New Zealand will need to significantly improve their low Net Run Rate (NRR), which is the weakest among the four teams in contention (see the India section for details). If New Zealand loses one more match and both India and Australia win one each (or if Pakistan wins both), they will be eliminated.

Pakistan

Pakistan currently has one win and one loss, and their chances of advancing depend largely on the unlikely scenario of defeating both Australia and New Zealand. With their Net Run Rate (NRR) trailing behind both India and Australia, Pakistan’s best hope is to reach six points and rely on Australia defeating India. This outcome would allow both Australia and Pakistan to qualify from Group A.

Read More: Nitish Reddy, Rinku Singh muscle India to a convincing series win

Taskin Highlights Key Drop as Turning Point in Bangladesh’s Loss

Taskin Ahmed, the Bangladesh pace bowler, expressed that the team paid dearly for dropping Nitish Reddy early in the second T20I match against India at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday. He noted that the spinners struggled to make an impact due to the dew factor, which contributed to their inability to restrict India despite a solid start with the ball.

Bangladesh conceded only 45 runs during the powerplay while taking the wickets of Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, and captain Suryakumar Yadav. However, India recovered well and set a formidable total of 221, largely thanks to Nitish’s explosive 74 off 34 balls and Rinku Singh’s 53 off 29. Their partnership of 108 runs came off just 49 balls, paving the way for India’s 86-run victory, which secured them the series.

Nitish, who scored his maiden fifty off just 27 balls in his second international match, was dropped by wicketkeeper Litton Das when he was on just 5 runs. Das failed to catch a hook off a short delivery from Tanzim Hasan Sakib, only managing to glove it.

“Catch drop is always costly, especially against an opponent like them who are best in the world. The margin of error is very small and so it was costly,” Taskin told reporters after the match.

“Look, in the powerplay we did well but they batted well in the end and unfortunately spinners had a bad day. Normally we don’t have these kind of bad days but in T20 anything can happen on any day. The spinners could not grip the ball as there was dew. We were in the game till the 11th or 12th over and on this wicket, if we had kept them under 180 runs, it was chaseable.”

Read More: Pakistan’s bowling sidelined in now-familiar fashion

Taskin Ahmed Advocates for Improvement in Bangladesh’s Cricket Conditions and Domestic Structure

Taskin Ahmed stated that Bangladesh’s ongoing struggle to post competitive totals is due to their inexperience with quality pitches in their home conditions. He also emphasized that participating in various leagues worldwide would greatly enhance their players’ skills and overall performance.

“They (India) score 180 to 200 runs regularly. For us that is 130-40 at home. We don’t have that habit (of scoring big runs) and that is the reality. Hopefully in the coming days our home conditions will get better and at that point we can chase big runs and defend as well. At the same time, if we can play different franchise leagues we will have better experience. Our cricket will develop when the structure of our domestic cricket is strong.”

“They (Indian batters) play their shots fluently even when there is a small margin of error. If we try to play shots lying down like them (scoop and lap shots), it would hit our head. This habit that they have grown is due to playing on good wickets from the early stages of their career,” said Taskin.

According to Taskin Ahmed, a potential solution is to part ways with Gamini de Silva, the head curator of Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. The Sri Lankan has been with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) for 14 years and has faced frequent criticism for producing low and slow pitches. “The decision lies in the hands of the board. We have already informed the board (to prepare good wickets and take a decision on the curator) and board is thinking about it.”

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