CWC 2023 Semifinal candidates: Déjà vu

The CWC 2023 is now 50% completed, and we can already smell the Seimifnalist favorites based on the Point Table. Unsurprisingly, we might see some very familiar faces reappearing in the Semifinals.

CWC 2023 Team Standings after (24/48) Matches

India
New Zealand
South Africa
Australia
Pakistan

India is by far the most dominant force in this World Cup. They haven’t lost any match so far. On top of that, the “Team Blue” didn’t even have to struggle to win against the heaviest of opponents. Closely following is New Zealand with their usual habit of performing better at World Cups. The Kiwis have only lost to India and won against all the backmarkers of the current point table.

Behind them is South Africa, with their unbelievably good batting lineup. In this World Cup, the Proteas have absolutely ascended from the valley of the boundaries, showering all their opponents with 300 to 400 runs target. Lastly, we have Australia, the five-time World Cup winner. The Aussies have suffered losses against India and South Africa but managed to comeback against Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Netherlands.

CWC Déjà vu

Let’s look at the previous CWC Semifinalists, dating back to the World Cup of 2003.

2003: India, Kenya, Australia, Sri Lanka
2007: Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand
2011: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand
2015: Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa
2019: England, New Zealand, Australia, India

The pattern is quite noticeable, as some teams have repeatedly appeared in the Semifinals. Most notably, Australia, India, New Zealand & South Africa are again likely to end up in the Semifinals of CWC 2023. According to their Standings, only Australia seems to be in trouble from Pakistan. However, the Aussies pulled up a record-breaking victory against the Dutch to widen the gap between them and Pakistan. Currently, Australia is safe with their Net Run Rate of (+1.142), while Pakistan is in a troublesome pursuit with (-0.400).