The ongoing cricket world cup is nearing the climax of the league stage games and four teams are still up there for a contention for the semi-finals. A total of 35 matches have been played till Friday with a total of 10 matches left to be played in the group stage. The ongoing World Cup is played in the round robin format, each team is playing each other once in the league stage and the teams in the top four in the points table will play the semi-finals.
At the moment Australia have qualified for the semi-finals and New Zealand and India are certain to make the semi-finals with a win for both the sides confirming their last four berth. However, there are four teams fighting for one last spot in the semi-finals. Let’s take a look at them and the possible scenarios for qualification.
Other teams who can qualify for the semi-finals
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s chances to qualify for the semi-finals looks bleak after their defeat to South Africa by 9 wickets in Durham. They will have to win their last two encounters against West Indies and India and hope that Pakistan and Bangladesh win only one game or lose both the games and England lose both their games against India and New Zealand.
Sri Lanka is currently at 7th position in the table with 6 points in seven games with a net run rate of -1.186.
England
The Eoin Morgan led side was a pre tournament favourite to win the world cup but their loss to Pakistan in the initial stages of the tournament was a big setback for them. They bounced back in style by winning four consecutive matches against Bangladesh, West Indies, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. Just when the things were looking comfortable for the world number 2 ranked team, they lost two successive games to Sri Lanka and Australia to bleak their chances for a last four finish.
England will have to win their next two games against India and New Zealand to directly qualify for the semi-final without relying on other’s performance. If they win only one game they will have to hope that Pakistan and Bangladesh win only one game or loses both the games.
England is currently fourth in the points table with eight points in seven games with a net run rate of +1.051
Pakistan and Bangladesh
At the cusp of exiting the world cup after the defeat to India on 16th June, Pakistan has fought back valiantly. They pipped a low lying South African and the undefeated New Zealand in their next game to give a ray of hope to their fans.
Pakistan is currently at the 6th spot in the points table with seven points in 7 games with a net run rate of -0.976. They will need to win their next two games against Afghanistan and Bangladesh and will have to rely on the performance of other teams to qualify for the semi-finals. If Pakistan manages to win their remaining two games and England lose their one of the two matches then the men in green will sail through with 11 points.
They need to win their next clash against Afghanistan to move to fourth position in the table with 9 points. If England loses their remaining two encounter then it will all come down to the men in green clash with Bangladesh. 
The Mashrafe Mortaza led side will face India in their next clash and even if they lose the game, they will still have a chance of qualifying. They are way better than Pakistan when it comes to net run rate and a win against them will ensure that they overtake them to be at the number four position and qualify for the semi-finals. The Bangla tigers are currently placed at fifth position with seven points in 7 games with a net run rate of -0.133.v
