There was a big twist in the 18th match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 as South Africa handed India their first defeat of the tournament. In a crucial Group A encounter in Manchester, South Africa chased down India’s 158/7 to win by six wickets, opening the group account. After this defeat, the path to the semi-finals has become difficult for India and they will potentially have to defeat Australia in their final group game.
Pakistan, Netherlands and Ireland have been eliminated. Here’s a look at each team’s current standings and semi-final qualification scenarios:
Remaining matches: vs Bangladesh, vs Australia
IND-W will qualify for the semi-finals if:
– They win both their remaining matches and South Africa or Australia lose one of their remaining matches.
– They beat Bangladesh but lost to Australia (finishing on 6 points), while South Africa lost one of their remaining games (finishing on 6 points), and India led on net run rate (NRR).
– They beat both Bangladesh and Australia, Australia beat Pakistan and South Africa won both their remaining matches. In that case, all three teams will finish on 8 points, with NRR deciding the two semi-finalists. India currently has a better NRR than South Africa.
Remaining matches: vs Pakistan, vs India
Australia will qualify for the semi-finals if:
– They won both the remaining matches.
– They beat India on Sunday.
Australia can also join India and South Africa in a triangular tie of 8 points. They currently have the best NRR in the group (+4.391).
Remaining matches: vs Netherlands, vs Bangladesh
South Africa will qualify for the semi-finals if:
– They won both the remaining matches and Australia defeated India.
– India lost one of their remaining matches (finishing on 6 points), while South Africa won one of their remaining matches by a sufficient margin to overtake India on NRR.
South Africa can also join India and Australia in a triangular tie on 8 points. They currently have the lowest NRR (-0.546) among the three teams.
Remaining matches: vs India, vs South Africa
Bangladesh will qualify for the semi-finals if:
– They won both the remaining matches. In that case, they will qualify regardless of the India-Australia result.
– They beat India but lost to South Africa, and South Africa then lost to the Netherlands. This will leave Bangladesh, South Africa and India level on 6 points (provided India beats Australia), with the NRR deciding the other semi-finalist from Group A along with Australia.
Hosts England top spot to progress from Group B ©getty
Remaining matches: vs West Indies, vs New Zealand
England will qualify for the semi-finals if:
– They must win any one of their remaining two matches.
–If Sri Lanka and New Zealand win both their remaining matches then they qualify with 6 points. This way, England, Sri Lanka and New Zealand will all finish on 6 points, with the NRR deciding the qualifiers.
Remaining matches: vs England, vs Ireland
West Indies will qualify for the semi-finals if:
– They must win any one of their remaining two matches. If they lose both the games, their fate may come down to NRR.
For West Indies, a three-way tie on 6 points represents the worst-case scenario. If Sri Lanka and New Zealand win both of their remaining matches, West Indies, Sri Lanka and New Zealand could all finish on 6 points, with the NRR determining who advances to the semi-finals.
New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Scotland
Remaining matches: New Zealand vs Scotland, Sri Lanka vs Ireland, Sri Lanka vs Scotland, and England vs New Zealand
New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Scotland have to win both their remaining matches and hope that the loser of the England-West Indies game also loses their remaining matches.
All three teams can reach a maximum of 6 points, and the NRR can then determine the other semi-finalist from Group B.
– Sri Lanka currently have the lowest NRR (-1.913) among the three sides.
– If the loser of the England-West Indies match wins their other match, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Scotland will all be out.
