Over-by-over report: Both sides will be hoping to cement their top-four slots, but who will come out on top? Join our team writers
The World Cup has taken a sudden turn for the better. When South Africa beat Pakistan and New Zealand lost to Australia at the weekend, it felt like confirmation of the most predictable group stage in history. But the manner of Afghanistan and Pakistan’s wins in the last couple of days has reopened the possibility of a late drama that would justify this never-ending league stage. There are two ways of looking at today’s game between New Zealand and South Africa in the Pune.
The first is that the winner is more likely to avoid India in the semi-finals; the second is that the loser, particularly if it’s New Zealand, will be left scrapping just to reach the semi-finals. The permutations are too boring to detail here, which is to say I don’t fully understand them, but defeat for New Zealand would make their next game – Pakistan in Bengaluru on Saturday – a humdinger. Even South Africa, formidable though they have been, are not completely safe.
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