Veteran Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan said that he would be surprised to see if one India, New Zealand, or South Africa fails to qualify for the semifinals of the ongoing ODI World Cup given their brilliant performance in the tournament.
The Men in Blue remains unbeaten in the tournament so far and they have been dominant in the first half of the event. South Africa and New Zealand have also had a good run with four wins from their five matches and are currently placed below India in the points table.
Taking his X handle, Shikhar Dhawan has expressed his opinion that India, South Africa, and New Zealand are the strong contenders for the semifinals of the ODI World Cup. He further added that he would be surprised if any of them fail to make it to the final four of the marquee event and believes that the last spot for the semifinals would be determined by the net run rate.
Every World Cup match is reshaping the points table, with India, SA, and New Zealand securing their spots in the semis. Now, the spotlight is on the race for the 4th spot, demanding keen attention to net run rate. Will be shocking if one of India-NZ-SA doesn’t qualify for SF.… pic.twitter.com/Bj2tMAqgah
— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) October 25, 2023
“Every World Cup match is reshaping the points table, with India, SA, and New Zealand securing their spots in the semis. Now, the spotlight is on the race for the 4th spot, demanding keen attention to net run rate. Will be shocking if one of India-NZ-SA doesn’t qualify for SF. What do you guys think? Share your thoughts!”
Five-time champions Australia had a terrible start to the tournament after losing their first two games, but they turned things around with three straight wins to take fourth place. Pakistan, who have lost three straight games is placed in fifth place with Afghanistan taking sixth place in the points table.
The bottom four teams are, in order, Sri Lanka, England, Bangladesh, and the Netherlands, all of whom have only won once thus far. Defending champions England are placed at the bottom half of the points table walking in as one of the favourites to win the championship in India.
India, South Africa, and New Zealand have emerged as the three favourites to win the World Cup in the middle of the tournament each of the three teams has been a well-rounded, dominant force in every facet of the game, while Australia are making a stronger comeback in the league stage to book their spot in the final four and the teams would be pumped up to hit the right form towards the business end of the tournament.
