No threat to India's quarterfinal berth

There is so much hue and cry doing round these days over India’s claim for the coveted trophy and even their chances to reach the quarterfinal.

The debate can easily be seen on several news channels these days over India’s probability to qualify for knockout round.

The so called cricket experts are busy in discussing several possibilities of India’s ouster from the group stage.
 
It is quite surprising that India has lost just one game in the tournament and it is still placed at 2nd position in the Group B point table. Yes, it is true that the Group B is wide open at this moment but you can’t expect three upsets in this group.

In the Group B, West Indies is the only side, which will play two more games. 1st with England and second one is against India. If Caribbean side wins two remaining games against India and England, it will through to the quarterfinal with 10 points out of six outings. After this, India will stand third in the Group B standing with seven points.

If English team goes down against West Indies, they will have to fly back. Because, they will have just five points out of six games.

In circumstances when West Indies loses one game and wins another, they will be quite alive in the tournament. But it will be interesting to see, which side loses India or England. England will have do or die game against West Indies to keep floating.

If India wins its tie against West Indies, it will easily advance for the knockouts with 9 points. India’s chances can only be affected when West Indies beats India and loses to English side. On the other hand, Bangladesh beats South Africa. In such condition, Bangladesh will have eight points along with Proteas. West Indies will have also eight points and England and India will have seven points each. But still India’s chances will be quite bright for quarterfinal as it has better net run rate. It means England will have to thrash West Indies by huge margin, so India can be ousted.

The chances of above mentioned possibilities are very thin as England and West Indies game is not going to be one sided. West Indies has just played one game against stronger side in the tournament, in which they faced defeat against South Africa. Playing against England and India is not going to be an easy task for Caribbean.
 
Definitely, Bangladesh side has played some good cricket in the tournament, including clinical victory against England but possibility of overcoming South Africa is not going an easy task for co-hosts.

One thing is sure that whereas West Indies will face real test in the remaining two games, Bangladesh will be eyeing another upset.