The National T20 Cup has provided the fans with thrilling high-quality cricket over the past few weeks. The tournament has heated up in the last few days with three teams booking their place in the semi-finals.
Northern, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh have sealed the semi-final berth with some dominant displays. Now, three teams are fighting for the last spot for the semi-finals. Balochistan, Central Punjab and Southern Punjab have displayed brilliance in the tournament, but they have struggled to perform consistently as a team.
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| Rank | Team | Matches | Wins | Losses | Points | NRR |
| 1. | Northern (Q) | 9 | 7 | 2 | 14 | 0.933 |
| 2. | KPK (Q) | 9 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 0.192 |
| 3. | Sindh (Q) | 10 | 5 | 5 | 10 | -0.22 |
| 4. | Central Punjab | 10 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 0.046 |
| 5. | Balochistan | 9 | 4 | 5 | 8 | -0.611 |
| 6. | Southern Punjab | 9 | 3 | 6 | 6 | -0.345 |
Let’s have a look at the qualification scenarios for the remaining three teams:
Central Punjab
Central Punjab witnessed some sort of resurgence in form after the arrival of their captain, Babar Azam, and all-rounder, Faheem Ashraf, in the second phase of the tournament. They currently sit 4th on the table with 8 points.
Central Punjab has played all 10 of their matches though and are level on points with 5th placed Balochistan.
In order to qualify, Central Punjab will need Balochistan to lose against Southern Punjab, but by a small margin. Central Punjab currently have a net run rate of +0.046 as compared to Southern Punjab’s -0.345.
Balochistan
Led by the middle-order batsman, Haris Sohail, Balochistan currently occupy the 5th spot on the table. They have won 4 matches out of 9 and have 8 points as are marginally behind Central Punjab on net run rate.
Their net run rate of -0.611 is way below Central Punjab’s +0.046, so in order to ensure qualification, they have to beat Southern Punjab.
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Southern Punjab
Southern Punjab have had a disappointing tournament so far. They’ve had some matches go down to the wire, but more often than not, they have crumbled under pressure. Their qualification chances for the semi-finals look bleak though. They currently sit at the bottom of the table with 6 points in 9 matches.
Southern Punjab have to win against Balochistan and they have to do it in some style. Their net run rate currently is -0.345, while Central Punjab in the 4th spot has a net run rate of +0.046. They need to win their last match by a huge margin to improve their net run rate.
> “Even if Southern Punjab do manage to win their last two matches and get their net run rate higher than Central Punjab, they will need Balochistan to lose both of their matches. Even a single win for Balochistan will end their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals.”
Balochistan is playing against Southen Punjab today. So if Southern Punjab wins then that would mean Balochistan lost. Both can’t win the same match!
Updated.