After a humiliating loss to BlackCaps, India have an uphill task ahead of them with three group stage matches still to go. To keep the hopes alive for a semi-final berth, there are a lot of permutations and combinations involved. India need to win all of their remaining matches and boost their net run rate (NRR) by big wins, especially against Scotland and Namibia. Even then, for India to qualify, Afghanistan need to beat New Zealand in their next match and then lose to India. If India, Afghanistan and New Zealand end up with three wins each after the group stage matches, it will boil down to their NRR. India would also hope that Afghanistan beat New Zealand by a good margin and bring their NRR by a considerable margin.
Slim Ray of hope for Men in Blue
The world isn’t ending for the Indian fans as there are a few unlikely scenarios by which India can still qualify for the semi-final without bothering about the NRR.
India can enter T20 WC 2021 semi-finals without NRR if the following happens:
Pakistan win their remaining two games, which means they will not only qualify for the last four but also will top the table in Group 2 with 10 points.
On the other hand, India win the remaining three games against Afghanistan, Scotland and Namibia. And if this happens, India will have 6 points in their bank. In addition, New Zealand defeat Afghanistan and get beaten by Scotland and Namibia. In that case, the Kiwis will end up on 4 points. However, it is quiet unlikely that the Kane Williamson-led side will lose to any of the minnows.
If the above scenarios happen, Afghanistan will also end up on 4 points. Along with them, Namibia will also end up with 4 points, followed by Scotland who will have 2 points under their belt.
Even though the chances are bleak, India have to stay positive as Virat Kohli said in the post-match presentation and bring their A-game in their remaining three matches. Kohli's men have to rely on the other teams' matches for their semi-final contention.
