Australia’s chances of making it to the semifinals are still very much alive after the second round of games.

Six teams are vying for two spots in the final four of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022, and there is everything to play for in Group 1. We examine the current situation and the condition of play.

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Who has the best chance of making it to the semi-finals?

After two games, New Zealand is the only unbeaten team in Group 1. Their 89-run victory over Australia has also given them a significant advantage in the Net Run Rate column.

Barring a humiliating loss of their own in the final four games, a Net RR of +4.450 is almost as good as an additional point.

Although the Kiwis could still lose because of the washout and the shared points with Afghanistan, the Black Caps still have the advantage in the qualification race because of the other teams deducting points from one another.

While Sri Lanka and England currently lead the rest of Group 1 in NRR by a respectable margin, there are still three rounds of matches left, so anything is still possible. The group’s composition has changed as a result of England’s defeat to Ireland.

The start of Australia’s comeback

Australia was in a precarious situation as a result of the crushing loss they suffered to New Zealand in their opening group game, as well as the effect it had on NRR.

The hosts of the competition are aware that they cannot afford to lose any more games. Although two losses don’t mathematically eliminate a team’s prospects of qualifying, it will probably take a lot of luck for them to do so with only three victories in the Super 12 stage.

And considering Australia’s negative net run rate, that is, even more, the case for that country.

With an NRR of -1.555 after two games, the Australians will need at least one, ideally two, significant victories in the remaining games to try to eliminate that possibility from their qualification chances.

The triumph over Sri Lanka in Perth on Tuesday, in especially because of Marcus Stoinis’ late run-flurry, which enabled them to chase down the target with more than three overs remaining and reduce some of the NRR gap, has enhanced the odds of a successful championship defense.

Australia gets considerable breathing room thanks to England’s following loss to Ireland in Melbourne.

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Important Upcoming Games Australia vs. England on October 28

There aren’t many things bigger than this. Any encounter between Australia and England is significant, but this tournament’s most important match is going to take place at the MCG.

Both teams would require a small miracle to advance to the semifinals in the event of a loss.

Recent outcomes don’t seem well for the home team. But in the competition, England won the warm-up series in Australia 2-0, and it appeared that they would win the entire series before rain stopped the third and final game in Canberra.

Furthermore, Australia has only triumphed once in the previous seven completed men’s T20I matches between these two countries.

When these teams faced off in the Group Stage of the most recent T20 World Cup, England was guided to a resounding victory by Jos Buttler thanks to Australia being bowled out for 125 runs and England completing the chase in just 11.4 overs.

But history is only history. On Friday night in Melbourne, Australia will try to score a victory over their old rivals, while England appears to have lost its confidence at the start of the Super12 stage.

Sri Lanka vs. New Zealand, October 29

By the time of New Zealand’s match against Sri Lanka on Saturday, Group 1’s composition will be much apparent.

The Asia Cup 2022 Champions are hoping to pull off a shock and place in this group’s top two. But in order to do that, they’ll probably need to defeat one or more of the teams that are placed higher than them in the MRF ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings.

Given that they had lost to the tournament’s hosts, Sri Lanka can’t really afford another setback.

But they are up against a strong opponent in New Zealand. The 2021 T20 World Cup champions demonstrated their balanced attack and potent batting lineup in their decisive victory over Australia earlier in the competition.

Another victory for New Zealand would put them in charge of the group thanks to their point from the postponed Afghanistan game and that higher Net RR.