We are approaching the halfway point in the league phase in the 2023 World Cup.
The story is taking shape, the top teams are moving closer to the semi-finals, but the teams that start late are already in danger of elimination, making qualifying mathematically impossible.
Here are the latest Power Rankings and the first since the tournament began.
India (1)
New Zealand (3)
Another undefeated team in this tournament, the 2019 runners-up team is once again set to advance to the finals of the ICC tournament. In fact, New Zealand lead the table with a slightly better net run rate than India, but they have a relatively undemanding schedule. It will be interesting to see how their strong team balance compares to their competitors’ strong lineups.
Australia (4)
Australia got off to a slow start but got their campaign back on track with back-to-back wins over Sri Lanka and Pakistan. They still don’t look as good as the top two teams – their mid-table squad hasn’t really developed yet – but things are starting to come together. Adam Zampa’s return to form is a welcome bonus.
South Africa (5)
Strange campaign so far. The Proteas stormed out of the starting blocks and set his new record against Sri Lanka before defeating Australia in Lucknow. Just as Temba Bavuma’s side were beginning to establish themselves as realistic title contenders, they suffered a defeat against the Netherlands, failing in particular to the Dutch spin attack. A one-sided record was exposed in which losing early wickets made them vulnerable with Marco Jansen for 7, but despite this result they were still a dangerous team and could beat anyone on the day. have more ability than they can.
Pakistan (6)
Players break form at the wrong time. Apart from Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Shadab Khan and even Shaheen Afridi are the key players who have not been performing at their best, but they did hit five against Australia. They are not out of contention yet, but given the nature of their defeats against India and Pakistan, they are unlikely to be in a serious position to challenge for the title in the long term. Don’t be surprised if Pakistan play a lower ranked team like their immediate neighbors in this ranking.
England (2)
The current champion will face an uphill battle if he wants to retain the title. Jos Buttler’s team lost not only to New Zealand but also to Afghanistan, but they were unusually passive with the bat and displayed one of the least threatening bowling attacks in the tournament so far. They have the talent to change their destiny, but they need to go one step further.
Afghanistan (9)
So far, various campaigns against Afghanistan. The victory over England was one of the results of the tournament so far, but they were completely defeated in the remaining three games. On the day, they give everyone competition, but their mid-ranked players, certainly the lowest in the tournament, just don’t have enough consistency to give them a serious challenge to make it to the finals.
Bangladesh (8)
Actually, there isn’t much separating the bottom four sides. Although Bangladesh lacked the firepower to pose a threat to the top-ranked teams, they comfortably defeated Afghanistan in Dharamshala. In 2019, they finished eighth with three wins, and were only behind South Africa in terms of net run rate. At this point, it is unlikely that these efforts would improve significantly under more favorable conditions.
Netherlands (10)
The Netherlands pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the World Cup by defeating an outstanding South Africa. They have a balanced team, with the dangerous Roelof van der Merwe adding to their batting depth with only nine players, plus six reliable front bowling options. Don’t be surprised if they pull off another upset before this tournament is over.
Sri Lanka (7)
