The defending champions of the T20 World Cup and co-host of the ongoing edition of the tournament, India, find themself in a tricky situation after a 76-run loss against South Africa in their opening clash of the Super 8 leg of the competition. The loss against the finalist of the last edition has dented India’s net run rate, which has now gone into negative territory.
The Result
To make matters worse, West Indies’ huge win over Zimbabwe means that India will have to register a big win in their last two matches in the Super 8 against Zimbabwe and West Indies, respectively.
The Favour
However the Suryakumar Yadav led side will have to hope for South Africa to beat West Indies as failing to do so will in all likeliness end India’s chances of making it to the semi final because if West Indies beat South Africa then the Men in Blue will have to do something outrageous considering the fact that South Africa will beat Zimbabwe in their last match and will surely have a superior net run rate then the home team.
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For a better understanding of Team India’s qualification scenario in the top four, let’s look at the points table of Group One
| Team | Matches Played | Matches Won | Matches Lost | Points | Net Run Rate |
| West Indies | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | +5.350 |
| South Africa | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | +3.800 |
| India | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -3.800 |
| Zimbabwe | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -5.350 |
Qualification Scenarios for India
What They Need To Do
For starters, India has no choice other than winning their next two matches so as to keep their hopes of making it to the semi-final alive, as failing to do so will result in them getting eliminated from a home World Cup.
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If South Africa Win Against West Indies
Along with winning the two-time T20 World Cup winners will have to hope for South Africa to register wins against West Indies and Zimbabwe, respectively. Interestingly, South Africa’s match against the West Indies is scheduled to be played on the same day as India will face Zimbabwe.
The South Africa vs West Indies will be played in the afternoon and will start at 3:00 PM local time on February 26, followed by India’s game against Zimbabwe, meaning that India will have clarity regarding the margin with which they have to win the match in question.
If South Africa Looses To West Indies
If the Proteas are unable to get the better of West Indies, the Men in Blue will have to win both their remaining matches by a huge margin, which might still not be enough for them to secure a place in the semi-final.
Conclusion
Going by all the scenarios, it is safe to say that tables have turned in a big way with India rooting for South Africa, the same team that they got the better of to win the tournament a couple of years ago.
