If you beat Australia then you will get direct entry, if you lose then India’s semi-final will be stuck in the maze of net run rate, know the complete mathematics.

New Delhi. India has strengthened its semi-final hopes by registering a very important five-wicket win against Bangladesh in the Women’s T20 World Cup. However, despite this victory, the road ahead for the team led by Harmanpreet Kaur is not as easy as it seems. This match was far from the best performance from the ‘Women in Blue’, but ultimately winning the match was the most positive aspect. The match against Bangladesh was an eye-opener for the Indian team. The performance of the Indian fielders in the first innings was very disappointing, where they dropped about half a dozen catches. Due to this laxity in fielding, the Bangladeshi team was successful in scoring a respectable score.

After this, when the Indian team came out to chase the target, the batsmen lost their wickets by playing some very irresponsible and strange shots. Due to the chaos seen on the field, the match could have gone either way. But in the end the experience came in handy and the team won the match with five wickets remaining. Even though shortcomings were seen in every department of the game, getting two important points in the points table matters the most at this time.

Mathematics of semi-finals, ‘do or die’ war against Australia
Even after defeating Bangladesh, India’s place in the semi-finals is not yet confirmed mathematically. India now has only one match left in the group stage, which is to be played against the undefeated Australian team on June 28 at the historic ground of Lord’s. South Africa is the only team in the group that can still leave India behind. To remain in the race for the semi-finals, Africa will have to win both its remaining matches (against Netherlands on Thursday and Bangladesh on Sunday) at any cost. If the Proteas team wins both these matches, it will reach 8 points.

What does the equation say?
If South Africa wins both its matches, India will also have to defeat Australia at any cost to secure the semi-final ticket. In such a situation, both India and South Africa will have 8 points each, and the decision will be taken on the basis of net run rate. The biggest shock for India in this tournament was the defeat against Netherlands, which spoiled the equation. However, the Dutch team has had to bear the brunt of the crushing defeat of 65 runs by Australia, due to which their own run rate has lagged behind significantly.

The game of pressure and net run rate on South Africa
If South Africa loses even one of its two upcoming matches, it will be able to reach a maximum of 6 points only. In such a situation, India’s path will become very easy. Then South Africa will need a miracle to reach the semi-finals. Like they will have to win their second match by a huge margin and pray that Australia gives a very bad defeat to India, so that the net run rate gets completely changed.

Interestingly, before the start of the match between India and Australia on June 28, the match between South Africa and Bangladesh would have been over. This means that the South African team, captained by Laura Wolvaardt, will already be under immense pressure to win both the matches by big margins, so that even if India beats Australia, they will be safe.

The way forward for India
The best strategy for the Indian team would be to not depend on the results of any other team or the additions and subtractions of the net run rate. Their entire focus should be on defeating Australia at Lord’s and knocking on the doors of the semi-finals directly. However, before taking the field on Sunday, the Indian team will be well aware of what South Africa has scored. In such a situation, even if South Africa wins its match, then even if India loses the match against Australia, they will know what margin of defeat they have to avoid to keep themselves in the semi-finals. But, Team India, intent on winning the tournament, would definitely like to enter the semi-finals with a resounding win, without any multiplication.