Explained: India's Women's T20 World Cup semi-final qualification scenarios after Australia's big win over Pakistan | Cricket News

(Image credit: BCCI Women)

NEW DELHI: Defending champions Australia were at their best on Friday as they defeated Pakistan by nine wickets in their third Group A match Women's T20 World Cup in Dubai.
After restricting Pakistan to a low all-out of 82, the Aussies stormed over the finish line in just 11 overs to claim their third successive win of the tournament.
With its 14th consecutive win in the cricket extravaganza, Australia maintained its top spot in Group A, which includes Pakistan, India, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.
With the win, Australia has now all but secured a place in the semi-finals of the group. With three wins in three games, Australia now has an impressive NRR (Net Run Rate) of +2.786.
Before the game against Pakistan, Australia had an NRR of +2.524, which was a notch higher after their one-sided win on Friday evening.
Australia's victory is good news for India as it has significantly dented Pakistan's chances of progressing further.
Before the Australia vs Pakistan match, India and Australia had four points each and Pakistan and New Zealand had two points each.
The heavy defeat against Australia dropped Pakistan to fourth place in Group A while New Zealand moved to third place.
India – second in the table and with 4 points – now have to win their last league game against Australia. Pakistan's defeat today also means that India now only has New Zealand as their main opponents for the second semi-final spot.
New Zealand still have two games left against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. While India still has one game left.
Considering Australia is already through, a win for India in the final group game means they will finish with 6 points. To challenge India for a place in the semi-finals, New Zealand will need to win their remaining two matches, and by a decent margin, to improve their NRR.
Currently, India has an NRR of +0.576 and New Zealand has an NRR of -0.050.
For New Zealand to overtake India in the semi-finals, they need to improve their NRR and win their two games. If India wins their final group game and New Zealand wins their two games, the team with the better NRR will advance as both will have 6 points each.
Should India lose their final group game and New Zealand win both games, New Zealand will advance along with Australia.
In the third scenario, if India loses and New Zealand wins and each loses one of their remaining two games, both teams are tied at 4 points each and this is where the NRR comes into play again.
Therefore, India needs to ensure that even if they lose their final game against Australia, they do not lose by a huge margin as that would significantly damage their NRR. In this case, if New Zealand finishes with a win and a loss and Pakistan also wins their final group game, all three teams will be tied by 4 points each. The team that has the best NRR of the three advances.
Sri Lanka have already been eliminated from the semi-finals but can also improve India's chances of qualifying for the semi-finals if they manage to beat New Zealand in the final game.