South Africa continued their purple patch in the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023 as they bulldozed New Zealand 190 runs in Pune's MCA stadium on November 1, Wednesday. This win also catapulted South Africa to top of the World Cup's points table, edging unbeaten Team India from the summit. Not just this Proteas' victory over Kiwis has also boosted Pakistan's chances of making it to the semifinals. However, Babar Azam's Men in Green will have to go through a lot of permutations and combinations to seal the coveted spot in the knockouts.
Notably, South Africa are dancing on top of the table with six wins in seven matches with 12 points. It their superior net run rate (NRR) (+2.290) which displaced Team India to no.2. Rohit Sharma's brigade also has 12 points in six matches with an NRR of +1.450.
Meanwhile, New Zealand's NRR has taken a major hit after mauling against Temba Bavuma's men. New Zealand slumped to no.4 with four win in seven ties with an NRR +0.484 behind Australia, who are sitting on no.3 in the points table.
South Africa's win came as blessing in disguise for Pakistan, who still stand a chance mathematically to make it to semis, provided they win both their remaining matches against New Zealand on November 4 and England on November 11 by boosting their NRR. Currently Pakistan are placed fifth with just three wins in seven matches with a not-so-impressive NRR of -0.024.
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | Points | Net Run Rate |
| 1. South Africa | 7 | 6 | 1 | 12 | +2.086 |
| 2. India | 6 | 6 | 0 | 12 | +1.405 |
| 3. Australia | 6 | 4 | 2 | 8 | +0.970 |
| 4. New Zealand | 7 | 4 | 3 | 8 | +0.484 |
| 5. Pakistan | 7 | 3 | 4 | 6 | -0.024 |
| 6. Afghanistan | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | -0.718 |
| 7. Sri Lanka | 6 | 2 | 4 | 4 | -0.275 |
| 8. Netherlands | 6 | 2 | 4 | 4 | -1.277 |
| 9. Bangladesh | 7 | 1 | 6 | 2 | -1.446 |
| 10. England | 6 | 1 | 5 | 2 | -1.418 |
Meanwhile, Afghanistan are hot on heels with Pakistan on sixth spot with same number of points (six) as they have also won three matches in a total of seven they have played so far, which also included a stunning win over Babar's men.
Following Afghanistan are Sri Lanka on 6th, Netherlands on 7th, Netherlands on eighth, Bangladesh on ninth and defending champions at bottom of the points table.
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