With Pakistan's win over New Zealand, South Africa have become the second team to qualify for the knockout stage of the ongoing World Cup 2023.
Temba Bavuma's men are ranked second at the points table with 12 points after winning six of their seven matches and have joined unbeaten India as the hosts have also qualified for the semis.
With eight points each, Pakistan, New Zealand, Australia, and Afghanistan are currently in the race to progress to the semis.
Australia, after their triumph over defending champions England, are ranked third on the points table with 10 points and will have to win their remaining two matches for a "guaranteed progression" to the next stage.
However, even if the Kangaroos lose one of their matches, they still might qualify for the semi-finals if they finish with a better net run rate (NRR) than the other two teams (Pakistan, Afghanistan, New Zealand).
It must be noted that the Men in Green defeated New Zealand by 21 (DLS method) runs in the 35th match of the ICC World Cup 2023 at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Despite a win, Pakistan's path to the World Cup semi-final remains difficult as they don't have things in their own hands but are still dependent on the results of New Zealand and Afghanistan.
As much as Pakistan need to beat England on November 11 in Kolkata and pray that Sri Lanka do their job against the Black Caps in Bengaluru on November 9, the Green Shirts need Afghanistan to lose one of their remaining two matches — against Australia and South Africa — or both (preferably) because the Afghan side, which is tied with Pakistan with eight points on the points table, has two more matches in the tournament — one more than Pakistan.
Match 36: England vs Australia — Australia win
Match 37: India vs South Africa — India win
Match 38: Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh — Sri Lanka win
Match 39: Australia vs Afghanistan — Australia win
Match 40: England vs Netherlands — England win
Match 41: New Zealand vs Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka win
Match 42: South Africa vs Afghanistan — South Africa win
Match 43: Bangladesh vs Australia — Australia win
Match 44: Pakistan vs England — Pakistan win
Match 45: India vs Netherlands — India win
If all the results go according to the above-mentioned scenario, India will finish first with 18 points, they would be followed by South Africa with 14 points. Australia will finish third with the same points as the Proteas while Pakistan, with 10 points, will finish fourth and qualify for the knockout stage of the World Cup.
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