India’s fate in the T20 World Cup 2026 would depend lot on the outcome of Thursday’s two Super Eight matches. After their 76-run defeat to South Africa in their first Super Eight match has put them in a tight spot, as the Suryakumar-led side needs to win the remaining
two matches against Zimbabwe and the West Indies.
In today’s matches – South Africa take on West Indies at 3:00 PM IST followed by India vs Zimbabwe clash starting at 7:00 PM IST. All eyes would be on the results of the two games as it will play a huge role in India’s progress to the last-four stage.
Before the start of the today’s matches, this is how the four teams rank in the points table: West Indies have two points from one match, South Africa also have two points from one match. While, India and Zimbabwe are on zero points from one match each. India’s net
run-rate (NRR) of -3.800 is a concern if at all NRR would come into play.
Scenario 1
The simplest of scenario would be that if South Africa beat West Indies on Thursday and then India beat Zimbabwe. In that case, South Africa with four points will progress to the semifinals while the winner of India vs West Indies clash will advance with the NRR not coming into play.
Scenario 2
If West Indies beat South Africa on Thursday and India beat Zimbabwe. In that scenario, India will have to beat West Indies by a huge margin in their third Super Eight match. Then they have to hope that Zimbabwe beat South Africa or lose by a narrow margin (so that South Africa’s NRR is not better than India’s)
Scenario 3
If India lose to Zimbabwe on Thursday, their chances of entering the last-four will take a massive hit, but they will not be officially out just yet. There would still be a sslim chance to qualification.
For that to happen, South Africa must defeat both West Indies and Zimbabwe. India would then need a huge win over West Indies to boost their NRR significantly.
In such a scenario, South Africa would finish on six points, while India, West Indies and Zimbabwe would all be tied on two points each. The semifinal spot would then be decided on net run-rate.
