T20 World Cup 2024 semi-final qualification scenario: Are India through to semi-finals after AUS vs AFG clash?

Afghanistan pulled off the upset of the 2024 T20 World Cup when they defeated mighty Australia by 21 runs in Kingstown. The qualification scenario in Group 1 of the T20 World Cup has become very interesting as Afghanistan are now firmly in contention to reach their first ever T20 World Cup semi-final, while Australia could be knocked out soon enough.

Asked to bat first, Afghanistan posted a total of 148 runs from their allotted 20 overs, with some key contributions from openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran. In reply, Afghanistan's bowlers kept things tight from the start, taking the first three wickets in the powerplay. A counter-attacking innings from Glenn Maxwell caused some concern for Afghanistan, but a 4-fer from Gulbadin Naib ensured there was no fight left in the match.

T20 World Cup qualification scenario

Team India are now on top of the Group 1 points table with 2 points and a net run rate of +2.425. Australia remain in second place with a superior net run-rate of 0.223, while Afghanistan are third with a net run-rate of +0.650.

In this context, the clash between Australia and India, scheduled for Monday, has gained renewed momentum. For the Men in Blue, it is fairly straightforward - win the game against Australia and go through to the semi-finals, but the result may not have much impact on their semi-final prospects unless they suffer a huge defeat.

Not only do the Australians need to beat India on Monday, but they also have to depend on Bangladesh to beat Afghanistan in the final Super 8 match of Group 1.

Afghanistan, on the other hand, need India to beat Australia and then win the Bangladesh game to book their place in the semi-finals for the first time. Even if India lose their last game, Afghanistan can still make it to the semi-finals by beating Bangladesh by a huge margin.