|| Desk Report ||

As the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 comes to at the halfway mark, the battle to reach semifinal gets intense.  Hosts England should be credited to make the battle more alluring, even though it cost them dearly.  With the World Cup heading to a boring conclusion as far as the semifinal line up is concerned, England firstly tasted a surprising defeat to Sri Lanka in a low scoring affair. Latter their defeat to archrivals Australia further opened up the tournament, leaving all teams apart from Afghanistan and South Africa to give it a shot to semifinal race.

To the delight of the Bangladeshi fans, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza’s team is also in the race although in their case many ifs and buts are involved.

But the Tigers performance is noteworthy till date, giving the fans a chance to keep their finger crossed. Bangladesh currently sits at fifth position with seven points from seven games (standing before the match between Pakistan and New Zealand)

Bangladesh needs to win their remaining two matches against India and Pakistan to make it to the semifinal. They can still go through with one win, If England win none of their matches, Sri Lanka win just one of their three matches and Pakistan win not more than two matches.

Bangladesh have won three matches so far against South Africa, West Indies and Afghanistan while as many match to New Zealand, England and Australia. Their match against Sri Lanka washed out, when it was widely regarded that they could beat the Lankans.

 If the teams points became equal then run rate will come into the fore.  Bangladesh is currently with the run rate of have -0.133, England +1.051, Sri Lanka -1.119 and Pakistan -1.265. These four teams are jostling for the fourth semifinal spot. Australia has already confirmed the semifinal, while New Zealand and India looked settled to nail it.

England came into the World Cup with the tag of number one ranked team in the ODI’s. They also started the World Cup with a crushing victory over South Africa. But the defeat against Sri Lanka and Australia made their World Cup mission troublesome.

They are currently on the number four position of the point table with eight points. They need to win their two matches against New Zealand and India to make it to the semifinal. But they funny fact is that England didn’t win against these two teams in the World Cup for 27 years. If they win one match they will have to depend on other teams results to make it to the Semifinal.

Sri Lanka after beating England has made this semi final race open. They can call themselves lucky also as they got two points due to rain wash out. They are currently on six points with two wins against Afghanistan and England. They need to win two of their remaining three matches against South Africa, West Indies and Sri Lanka to have any chance of qualifying for the semifinal.