Women's Cricket
Women's World Cup: Abandoned match makes India's road to semifinal clear
Much like the 2017 World Cup, India will have to win their final league stage match to qualify for the semifinals.
Indian women's cricket team (Source: BCCI Women/Twitter)
An abandoned match between West Indies and South Africa at the Basin Reserve in Wellington due to rain has simplified India's path to the semifinals of the ongoing ICC Women's Cricket World Cup.
Much like the 2017 World Cup where the women in blue beat New Zealand in their final league stage match to make it to the top-four before reaching the final, Mithali Raj and co once again have a must-win contest in their hands. But unlike five years back when it was a virtual quarterfinal with even the White Ferns well in contention to reach the semifinals, this time it will just be a must-win for India with South Africa already have qualified and ensured a top-two finish.
How can India qualify?
As mentioned above, for India to qualify they must win their final encounter. A win takes them through while a loss throws them out. Having understood this, the question arises what will happen if India's final match against South Africa is washed out?
Well, if India's final match is abandoned, they will still go through. This is because if the match is washed out, India will be tied with the West Indies for 7 points after 7 games but the women in blue will have a much superior Net Run Rate (NRR) for sure as the Caribbean women do not have any matches left to play.
In which position will India qualify?
The first two slots in the points table are already booked with Australia finishing first even if they lose their next match and South Africa second. So naturally, the only way for India to reach the semifinals is by taking the third or fourth spot.
Currently both England and India are tied at six points but the English sit above India, thanks to a better NRR. If England lose their next game then India will qualify in the third slot, but if England wins their next and India too win their next match then the NRR might come into play and India will take the fourth spot.
