Kane Williamson will look to maintain his impressive record in the ICC tournament when New Zealand take on Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi on Sunday afternoon as the battle for the final semi-final spot intensifies. Under the able leadership of the 31-year-old, the Black Caps ensured a runners-up position in the ICC 2019 World Cup and then went on to win the inaugural edition of the ICC Test championships, beating India in the finale. Now the team stands a chance to advance to the final four stage of the ongoing T20 World Cup in UAE, however a resilient Afghanistan stand on their way. 

While New Zealand and Afghanistan take on each other, Virat Kohli and his boys too will have their eyes glued on the proceedings of the event as the outcome will decide the fate of the Men In Blue in the showpiece event.   

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With just one spot left to be filled and India, Afghanistan and New Zealand all in the fray, we breakdown the semi-final equation for each sides: 

New Zealand

The Black Caps are hot favourites to book the final semi-final berth as they take on minnows Afghanistan at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. A win against Mohammad Nabi’s men will ensure New Zealand a final four ticket. 

Afghanistan

If Afghanistan manage to stage an upset against Williamson and co, the semi-final race will get interesting  opening the gates for both them and India. Meanwhile, the unlikely outcome will also knock New Zealand out of the contention.

A win for Afghanistan will cut down the race from three teams to two bringing the net run-rate (NRR) into the scenario. A win will take Afghanistan to six points and the second spot on the Group 2 points table and will boost their NRR, which currently stands at +1.481. 

India

Kohli’s India completely rely on the result of the Afghanistan vs New Zealand match after which they will have to defeat Namibia by a huge margin to secure the final four berth. After the early drubbings against big guns Pakistan and New Zealand, the Men In Blue displayed signs of redemption, securing decisive wins against Afghanistan and Scotland. The team’s NRR currently is above Afghanistan, a big plus for India, as it stands at +1.619. 

The other semi-finalists

Babar Azam-led Pakistan were the first side to make it to the final four. They were then joined by Eoin Morgan’s England and Aaron Finch-led Australia on Saturday became the latest member to earn a semi-final ticket.