After a narrow 6-wicket defeat against Meg Lanning's Australia in the ICC Women's World Cup match in Auckland on Saturday, India's chances of reaching the semifinals are on the knife's edge now. With each team playing seven matches against each other, India now has to win the remaining two league stage matches against Bangladesh on March 22 and against South Africa on March 27 to stand any chance of making it to the last four of the multi-nation tournament.
And not just win, but India also has to make sure that they edge the hosts New Zealand, defending champions England, and Asian rivals Bangladesh on net run rate, which can come into play later, as these three teams, alongside India, can reach the maximum number of eight points.
In such a scenario, the team with the better net run rate will progress to the knockout stage of the tournament.
India currently sits fourth in the league table, one spot ahead of the White Ferns despite having the same number of points from five games due to their superior net run rate.
The England women's team that opened its World Cup account against India on Wednesday after losing the first three matches can leapfrog Mithali Raj's side and jump to the upper half of the table if they manage to beat the hosts New Zealand on Sunday.
But a defeat tomorrow could also close the doors for the 2017 winners, as England then won't be able to reach the 8-point mark.
Australia, with five wins from five matches, became the first team to reach the semifinals on Saturday. In all likelihood, South Africa, with four wins in as many games, will also reach the last four. The West Indies, which currently sits third with six points from five games, will also be optimistic about their chances, as they have to play bottom-placed Pakistan in one of the two remaining matches.
So, India, which started the tournament on a high after crushing arch-rivals Pakistan by 107 runs in the opening encounter and later romped West Indies in the third league game by 155 runs, have to punch above its weight and earn a positive result against Bangladesh first and then defeat in-form South Africa as well to stay alive in the tournament.
