S Rajesh
CloseS Rajesh is ESPNcricinfo’s stats editor in Bangalore. He did an MBA in marketing, and then worked for a year in advertising, before deciding to chuck it in favour of a job which would combine the pleasures of watching cricket and writing about it. The intense office cricket matches were an added bonus.
Multiple Authors
Feb 26, 2026, 05:14 AM
With England through to the semi-finals and Sri Lanka out, the battle for the second semi-final spot from Group 2 is between New Zealand and Pakistan. The comprehensive 61-run win against Sri Lanka makes New Zealand the favourites to qualify, but given the number of huge victory margins in the Super Eight stage so far, Pakistan can’t be ruled out just yet.
New Zealand will put an end to all qualification permutations if they beat England at the same venue on Friday. Not only will they qualify, but they will also top the group with five points, and will hence play the second-placed team from Group 1 in the semi-finals. That result will also ensure that both semi-finals will be hosted in India.
However, if England win that fixture, they will top the group with six points, and will also keep Pakistan in the hunt, though Pakistan will have to overcome a fairly significant NRR handicap.
If, for instance, England score 180 and beat New Zealand by 30 runs on Friday, Pakistan will have to beat Sri Lanka by 40 runs (assuming the same first-innings total). In other words, the sum of the result margins of those two matches needs to be around 70 runs. If New Zealand bat first, score 150, and England chase it down in 17 overs, then Pakistan, chasing the same target against Sri Lanka, will have to reach their target in around 14.4 overs to go past New Zealand.
The next two games in the group will not only decide the second semi-finalists, but also the venue for the first semi-final: if New Zealand qualify, the first semi-final will be held in Kolkata, but if Pakistan sneak through, then Colombo will have the hosting rights.