Melbourne [Australia]: India became the first team from Group 2 to qualify for the semi-finals in the T20 World Cup, joining new Zeland and England following Netherlands' historic win over South Africa. Netherlands staged a massive upset in the ongoing T20 World Cup at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday after defeating South Africa by 13-runs in their last Super-12 encounter.
With this loss, South Africa finished with five points on the board with two wins in five matches. One of their matches against Zimbabwe failed to produce a result due to rain and both teams shared a point each. Other than that, they lost to Pakistan and the Dutch in their final two matches.
Despite their current standing at number two in the points table, they have been eliminated from the marquee tournament. The ongoing match between Pakistan and Bangladesh has become a virtual quarterfinal. Both teams have four points each and the winner of the match will earn a finish in the top two with six points.
India are currently the table toppers with six points after three wins in four matches. Their only loss came against South Africa.
Men in Blue are set to take on Zimbabwe in Melbourne today. If India wins this match, they will secure eight points under their belt. Team India will end up as table toppers with this result. Even if India suffers a defeat, they will end up with six points guaranteeing them a top-two finish alongside the winner of the Pakistan and Bangladesh match.
India will be taking on either New Zealand or England in their semifinal clash. Virat Kohli (220 runs in four innings with three fifties), Suryakumar Yadav (164 runs in four innings with two fifties), and pacer Arshdeep Singh (9 wickets) are some of the stars of India's campaign so far.
Earlier, the South African batters choked and failed to chase a moderate score of 159 runs as the Dutch bowlers restricted them to 145/8 in their 20 overs. Brandon Glover starred with the ball for the Netherlands as the pacer claimed three wickets in his two overs.
A late flourish from Colin Ackermann and Tom Cooper helped the Netherlands reach a total of 158/4 against South Africa. Ackermann top-scored for the Dutch with an explosive unbeaten 41 from 26 balls. Experienced Tom Cooper also made a vital contribution of 35 runs from 19 balls. (ANI)
