Bengaluru: Rain threat looms over New Zealand-Sri Lanka match, could improve Pakistan's semi-final chances

After Pakistan's 21-run win over New Zealand, all eyes are on the crucial World Cup encounter between the Kiwis and Sri Lanka at Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday (November 9). Babar Azam's team is in contention for the semi-final spot and for that, it needs to win against England and New Zealand has to lose against Sri Lanka.

New Zealand, another contender for the semi-final spot with eight points in four matches, has to win their last encounter against Sri Lanka, and anything less than two points may put it in a very precarious position. The Kiwis can still reach the semis based on net run rate only if Pakistan, which also have eight points, lose against England. But if Pakistan defeat England and the Kiwis lose their next clash, Babar Azam's team will storm into the semi-final.

While New Zealand would look to win their next do-or-die contest, reports suggest that rain may play spoilsport and the first few hours of play may be affected. But if the match gets washed out, the Kiwis would be in deep trouble as the points would be divided with both teams which would take New Zealand's points to 9. And if Pakistan win against England, they will be in the semi-final with 10 points. Rain will help New Zealand only if Pakistan lose their last encounter against England.

The weather prediction shows a 70 per cent chance of rain on November 9. Hitesh Maheshwari, a cricket enthusiast, said that the New Zealand vs Sri Lanka game has an 85 per cent chance of rain predicted early on. Heavy showers are likely between 2 pm to 6 pm.

New Zealand's last clash with Pakistan, played at the same venue last Saturday, was interrupted by rain. Eventually, the match could not be completed even with reduced overs and Pakistan won by 21 runs via the DLS method.

Rohan Saha, a social media user, said that it was unlikely that the match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka would be washed out as "continuous rain is not very common there" in Bengaluru.

"Typically, it rains for a maximum of 30-40 minutes, and then everything clears up. So, a total washout is very unlikely. Another important point is that if England wants to play in the Champions Trophy, they must win against Pakistan. So, it won't be very easy for Pakistan."

Sagar, another social media user, said that New Zealand have only themselves to blame for their position now, surely they can beat Sri Lanka but the weather could spoilsport again in Bengaluru.

Qualification scenario for Pakistan

If New Zealand win their encounter against Sri Lanka by 50 runs, Pakistan will need to win against England by 180 runs. If New Zealand win by 1 run, Babar Azam's team will need to win by 131 runs.

Afghanistan, which have 8 points in just 7 games, are another team in the reckoning but they have two more matches against strong teams - Australia and South Africa. If they win any of the two games and Pakistan and New Zealand lose their respective encounters, the Afghans would be in the semi-final.