Sri Lanka humbled defending champions England with a dominating eight-wicket win at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru to revive their chances of making it to the World Cup 2023 semi-finals. After bowling out England for 156, Sri Lanka chased down the target with eight wickets in hand and 146 balls to spare to boost their net run rate. The win helped them climb from seventh place to fifth on the points table with better NRR than Babar Azam’s Pakistan and Hashmatullah Shahidi-led Afghanistan.
Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Afghanistan have two wins each from five games. Sri Lanka's NRR is now -0.205 which is significantly better than Pakistan's -.400. Afghanistan have the worst NRR of the three at -0.969.
Follow the Sports Tak channel on WhatsApp
On the other hand, England's NRR took a massive hit as well. They slipped from eighth position to ninth on the points table, just above the Netherlands who suffered a record-breaking 307-run defeat at the hands of five-time champions Australia. England's embarrassing defeat has led to Bangladesh gaining one spot. England have managed to win just one game out of five. Their World Cup campaign is all but over after struggling in all departments of the game.
Currently, India are at the top with five wins from five games followed by South Africa and New Zealand who have four wins each. Australia are in the fourth position after registering their third win of the tournament on October 25 at Arun Jaitley Cricket Stadium, Delhi.
Pakistan will now face South Africa at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. If Pakistan win the clash they will keep their World Cup campaign afloat. On the other hand, South Africa will dethrone India on the basis of NRR if they beat Pakistan.
Team | Played | Won | Lost | Points | Net Run Rate |
1. India | 5 | 5 | 0 | 10 | +1.353 |
2. South Africa | 5 | 4 | 1 | 8 | +2.370 |
3. New Zealand | 5 | 4 | 1 | 8 | +1.481 |
4. Australia | 5 | 3 | 2 | 6 | +1.142 |
5. Sri Lanka | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -0.205 |
6. Pakistan | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -0.400 |
7. Afghanistan | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -0.969 |
8. Bangladesh | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | -1.253 |
9. England | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | -1.634 |
10. Netherlands | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | -1.902 |
MORE ON SPORTS TAK: