The first round of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 has heated up after West Indies and Sri Lanka’s losses to Scotland and Namibia in their respective groups' opening fixtures. The former two World Cup winners are now in danger of being eliminated from the first round. Let’s have a look at the West Indies and Sri Lanka’s current group phase scenarios.

2022 ICC Twenty20 World Cup: Group A’s present scenario

Namibia's victory over Sri Lanka in the tournament's opening match on October 16 came as a surprise. But their victory over the Lankan side has made the group A’s point standings wide open. Sri Lanka came back strong against the UAE after losing their first match by 55 runs. They beat the United Arab Emirates by 79 runs and moved up to the third spot in the point standings.

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On the other hand, Namibia failed to maintain the momentum after their historic triumph over Sri Lanka. They were defeated by the Netherlands by 5 wickets and dropped to second place.

The Netherlands are currently the unbeaten side in this group after two consecutive victories over the UAE and Namibia, respectively. They have taken the top spot with 4 points, but their run rate is the major concern at the moment. Despite winning two matches, the Dutch side is still behind in net run rate compared to Namibia and Sri Lanka. They have to beat the Lankan team in their final group stage fixtures on Thursday in order to qualify for the Super 12s. Otherwise, they have to rely on the match between Namibia and the UAE, where the latter is already out of the competition.

Both Namibia and Sri Lanka will move to the next round if they win their respective final fixtures in the group. However, who will top the group depends on the run rates. Given the current scenario, Namibia will likely top the group if they beat the UAE and advance to the Group 1 Super 12 Round.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, are most likely to finish second in the final point table of this group if they overcome the Netherlands on Thursday. The Lankan side will join Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and South Africa in Group 2 of the Super 12s if they finish second in the standings.

2022 T20 World Cup Group A points table

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ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2022: Group B’s current scenario

Like Sri Lanka, the two-time Twenty20 World Cup champions, West Indies, suffered a huge defeat against Scotland by 42 runs in their tournament opener on October 17. The Caribbean side made a comeback in their second match, beating Zimbabwe by 31 runs on Wednesday. The West Indies moved up to the third position in Group B's point standings.

The Scottish side remained in the top spot despite losing to Ireland by 6 wickets in Hobart thanks to better run rates. Zimbabwe remained in second position, while the Ireland team is in fourth place at the moment.

Group B is wide open and any team can finish top in the points standings depending on the final match day’s outings. On Friday, West India will meet Ireland, while Scotland will face Zimbabwe. The winners of these two fixtures will advance to the Super 12 Round.

Depending on the current run rate, the West Indies are in a difficult position. They have to beat the Irish side by a big margin in order to finish top of the group. The Caribbean side will advance to Group 2 of the Super 12 Round if they finish at the top of the points table.

T20 World Cup 2022 Group B points table

Verdict

No team has yet secured a spot in the Super 12 Round after the end of two games for each side. Which two teams from each group advance to the next round will be determined by the outcomes of the first round's remaining matches. Sri Lanka and West Indies must win their respective games against the Netherlands and Ireland in order to advance to the Super 12s of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022.

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