Following a shocking setback in their ICC T20 World Cup campaign against Namibia on Sunday, Sri Lanka came back strong with a massive win against the UAE on Tuesday to end up in a position where they simply need to beat the Netherlands tomorrow (20) to qualify for the tournament’s Super 12s stage.
If Sri Lanka defeats the Netherlands, they will not be dependent on the outcome of the other remaining Group A match between Namibia and the UAE, which will also be played later today.
If Sri Lanka loses to the Netherlands, they will have to rely heavily on the UAE to defeat Namibia. For Sri Lanka to qualify ahead of Namibia in NRR, UAE must defeat Namibia by a margin of 28 runs plus the margin of defeat for Sri Lanka against Netherlands.
In this scenario, the Netherlands will have three victories while all other teams, including Sri Lanka, will have one. Sri Lanka may qualify if their net run rate is higher than Namibia’s.
If both of today’s Group A matches are rained out, Sri Lanka will not be able to compete in the Super 12s. In that case, the Netherlands (who received more points) and Namibia (who has a higher NRR) will advance from Group A.