Following India’s crushing 72-run win over Zimbabwe and South Africa’s dominant performance against West Indies in their respective T20 World Cup Super 8 matches on February 26, the semifinal race has spice up. Zimbabwe have been officially eliminated from the T20 World Cup following their back to back defeats, while India and the West Indies find themselves deadlocked with two points each after two games in the Super 8 stage.
India fear washout against West Indies
This shift simplifies the qualification process significantly. Net Run Rate (NRR) will no longer be a factor in the final Group 1 showdown on March 1. Because both teams are on equal points, the upcoming match between India and the West Indies acts as a virtual knockout, with the winner progressing directly to the semi-finals.
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In the event of such a wash-out, West Indies would advance to the last four. This is because they currently hold a superior Net Run Rate (+1.791) compared to India’s (-0.100), a gap established during the opening two rounds of the Super 8 stage. However, chances of the India vs West Indies getting washed out is slim, given the venue, i.e Eden Gardens in Kolkata, but the Men in Blue will certainly hope for a full-fledged match, that too with the result falling in their favour.
Super 8 Group 1 Points Table after India crush Zimbabwe:
| Position | Team | M | W | L | N/R | Points | NRR |
| 1 | South Africa | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | +2.890 |
| 2 | West Indies | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | +1.791 |
| 4 | India | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -0.100 |
| 3 | Zimbabwe | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -4.475 |
Talking about the match, propelled by explosive half-centuries from Abhishek Sharma and Hardik Pandya, India amassed a record-breaking total of 256/4. Zimbabwe’s response was stifled by a clinical spell from Arshdeep Singh (3/24), whose impressive three-wicket haul restricted the opposition to 184/6. Despite a valiant and unbeaten 97 off 59 balls from Brian Bennett, India secured a comfortable 72-run victory.