ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024: How can Team India qualify for semifinals after New Zealand defeat? Scenarios explained
With only two teams qualifying for the semifinals from each group, the women's team will face a daunting task to progress to the knockout stages.
Can Team India qualify for semifinals
While the Indian women's cricket team is considered one of the top sides in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024, and captain Harmanpreet Kaur pointed out that the team has some of the best players, this did not seem evident when they faced New Zealand in their opening campaign.
The Indian women's cricket team was humbled on Friday (October 4) by the White Ferns in Dubai, suffering a 58-run defeat while chasing a target of 161 runs. The Women in Blue managed only 102 runs before being bowled out. With this defeat, India sits at the bottom of Group A.
With only two teams qualifying for the semifinals from each group, the women's team will face a daunting task to progress to the knockout stages. After the Kiwis' loss, they will face Pakistan, followed by matches against Sri Lanka and the formidable Australia.
So, the main question remains: can India qualify from here?
The Indian women's team still has a chance to qualify for the semifinals, but it will be an uphill battle for them to reach the last four of the tournament, especially given the hit their Net Run Rate (NRR) has taken.
Women's T20 WC: How can India qualify for the semifinal?
India can accumulate a maximum of six points by the end of the group stages. They have three more matches in the group: against Pakistan on October 6, Sri Lanka on October 9, and a final match against reigning champions Australia on October 13.
Following the defeat to New Zealand, India's current NRR stands at -2.900, meaning they will need to win their upcoming matches by significant margins. However, even if India wins all three matches, they could still be eliminated if their NRR is lower than that of other teams with the same number of points.