The race for two semifinal spots in the ICC Women's World Cup 2022 is set to be an intense and fiery one. Australia, who have so far been the most dominant side in the tournament, have won all six of their matches so far and were the first team to qualify for the semifinals of the showpiece event. South Africa, earlier on Thursday, March 24, joined them in the semis after their game against West Indies was washed out and they won one point, which was enough to see them through. Now, it leaves just two spots up for grabs and three teams realistically vying for those places--West Indies, England and India. ICC Women’s World Cup 2022 Points Table Updated

Defending champions England looked down and out in the competition after three consecutive defeats but Heather Knight's women have struck form at the right time. Their massive nine-wicket win over Pakistan with 184 balls to spare have pushed them into the top half of the table with India dropping down to the fifth spot. In this article, we shall take a look at the different qualification scenarios for the semifinals of the ICC Women's World Cup 2022:

#India now are in a must-win situation when they face South Africa in the last group stage match of the competition on March 27. India cannot afford to lose, a result which would then largely put their fate in other hands and also seriously threaten their semifinal hopes. The equation is simple for India--win and go through to the semis.

#If India and England win their last matches, then they would qualify with West Indies being knocked out as they'd then have one point less.

#India can finish third on the points table as well in which case, they would be able to avoid Australia in the semifinals. A win with a good run rate over South Africa would help Mithali Raj's side end third, provided England's run-rate does not undertake a massive improvement when they face (and also win against) Bangladesh. If India finish third, then would play South Africa again in the semifinal.

#If there's a washout (and England beat Bangladesh), then India would qualify as the fourth-placed team, considering the fact that they would have seven points (similar to West Indies). But they would beat West Indies on net run rate. Stafanie Taylor's team currently have a net run rate of -0.885 while India have +0.768. If India finish fourth, then they would face Australia in the semifinal.

#England and West Indies would qualify if India lose to South Africa on March 27. Needless to say, the defending champions have recovered dramatically to be at fourth place currently and given the fact that they are expected to win against Bangladesh, India's chances would become seriously slim if they lose to South Africa. West Indies, who have one point more than India at the moment, would qualify for the semifinals.

#If England lose against Bangladesh (something which is highly unlikely but cannot be ruled out), then West Indies and India (provided they beat South Africa) would qualify for the semifinals as third and fourth-placed teams respectively. This would happen despite India and England having the same number of points as the latter's run rate would take a hit with a defeat. Having said that, everything lies in India's hands now. They have to beat South Africa anyhow to guarantee semifinal qualification. The other spot would then be contested between West Indies and England in which, the latter are favourites as they have a game left against already eliminated Bangladesh.

#Hosts New Zealand still have a chance to make the semifinals provided they beat Pakistan by a very big margin, enough to override the net run rates of England and India. New Zealand would hope both India and England go down in their last group games by good margins and they secure a massive win, to have a shot at making the semifinals.

 

Things have started getting very interesting at the ICC Women's World Cup 2022 with the tournament at its business end. It would be interesting to see which teams makes it through to the final four at the end of March 27.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 24, 2022 01:39 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).