World T20: The semi-final scenarios - Cricketnext.com

The fight for the second semi-final slot from this group is intriguingly poised as both India and Pakistan have a fair chance of making the cut, with Australia enjoying a healthy run-rate of +1.712 with one match to go. South Africa lost both their Super Eights matches in contrasting manner - a close defeat against Pakistan and a comprehensive one against Australia. Even if they beat India on Tuesday, it would be an unlikely proposition for AB de Villiers' side to seal the semi-final berth as their inferior net run rate (-0.605) at this stage of the tournament makes their case weak.

India's eight-wicket win over Pakistan has kept them in contention for two semi-final slots, but two defeats in a row in the Super Eights mean South Africa are facing elimination from the tournament. Victory for India will take them to the semi-finals, and if they lose they will have to ensure it is not by a big margin. For South Africa to progress, they must beat India and hope that Pakistan lose to Australia in the match before them, and then look to see how healthy their net run-rate is.

In case Pakistan (-0.426), who are a shade ahead of India (-0.452) in terms of net run-rate happen to win against Australia, MS Dhoni and his men will then have to win comprehensively against South Africa in order to make it to the last four. If Pakistan lose on Tuesday, then everything will boil down to the final match of the Super Eights. A win against South Africa will be good enough for India to march into the last-four stage. Even in case of a defeat, India should ensure that they don't lose by a big margin.

Group 1

West Indies' exhilarating Super Over win over New Zealand at Pallekele on Monday kept them in contention for the ICC World Twenty20 semi-finals, and Sri Lanka's 19-run victory over England later in the day took Darren Sammy's team into the final four.

The result of the first match of the day knocked New Zealand out and ensured that Sri Lanka – who lead the group with four points and have the best net-run rate of 1.029 - became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals. The result of their final match against England at this same venue will have no consequence to them, but victory over England ensured that they progressed without having to bring the run rate into the equation.

West Indies' win over New Zealand meant that England had no option but to beat Sri Lanka by a significant margin to go past West Indies' net run-rate. Defeat has knocked them out.