T20 World Cup 2022: Updated Points table after NZ vs IRE and AUS vs AFG games

Both Trans-Tasman rivals (New Zealand and Australia) emerged victorious in their respective matches in the Super 12 stage of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 on Friday, November 4. First, New Zealand who played Ireland at the Adelaide Oval beat the latter by 35 runs and became the first team in the tournament to qualify for the semi-finals.

Australia also won their encounter against Afghanistan but by just four runs and will depend on Sri Lanka to win their match against England to qualify for the semi-finals.

Talking about the first match, the Kiwis’ skipper Kane Williamson hit a quickfire half-century (61 off 35 balls). His knock coupled with a few cameos by other batters helped the side to score 185-6 in their 20 overs. In response to the massive total set by the Black Caps, Ireland could only score 150 for the loss of nine wickets.

The Irish batters got off to a solid start and scored a few boundaries every now and then keeping the required run rate in check. However, the Kiwi bowlers then shifted gears and began scalping wickets one after the other. The wickets fell swiftly and from there, New Zealand orchestrated their way towards moving into the semi-finals of the tournament, winning the match by 35 runs.

Australia so close yet so far

Australia were put to bat first by the Afghanistan skipper Mohammad Nabi and David Warner who started off the tournament slowly, quickly got a few boundaries. However, Afghanistan pacers fetched four early wickets, including that of Warner, and ended his run as he scored 25 off 18 balls.

The onus was on Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh who propelled the side to 168 runs with their knocks of 54* and 45 runs respectively. Moreover, Australia needed to keep the net run rate in mind as they went to bowl in the second innings.

The Afghanistan batters tried to put up a show at the start but like Ireland, the Mohammad Nabi-led side lost wickets swiftly and it shifted the momentum towards Australia. Despite the final over scare by Rashid Khan, Australia won the contest by four runs. However, Australia despite winning the fixture, are so close yet so far and will require Sri Lanka to hand an upset to England in order to qualify for the last four of the tournament.

Here's how the T20 World Cup 2022 Points Table stands in Group 1: