Champions Trophy: The Group A rain dilemma

The 2017 edition of the Champions Trophy being held in England and Wales has been affected by the rains from the very first match. The teams most affected by it till now have been the ones in the Group A of the tournament. Two of the three matches in this group saw no result after the rains intervened. The Group B matches have also witnessed rain interruptions but none of them had to be canceled.

The Australia-New Zealand match could not see a result after rains meddled in the Aussie innings within 10 overs. Similar was the fate of the Bangladesh-Australia match which also had to be canceled due to the rains interrupting the Aussies chasing 183 against the Bangla side. Australia managed to score 86 in 16 overs with the loss of just one wicket but could not complete the chase. The match had to be canceled before 20 overs of the Australian innings which otherwise would have been decisive by the Duckworth-Lewis method. But to the misfortune of the Australian team, they had to settle for a single point.

With Australia bagging just two points in two games, it gave England an advantage as they managed to win their first match against Bangladesh. If England manages to defeat New Zealand next they will be the first team from the group to qualify for the semis. Whereas New Zealand will have to face Bangladesh in a do or die and their fate will depend on the match between England and Australia.

To remain secure in the competition, New Zealand needs to win against the English side. If this happens, both England and Australia will have 2 points from two matches and the England-Australia match will be the decider between the two teams. If then New Zealand loses to Bangladesh, there will be a net run rate battle between the top three teams according to which Bangladesh is currently at the bottom.

Bangladesh’s only plausible chance of qualifying would be England winning both their matches and them defeating the Kiwis in their last match. Australia on the other side can still try to tilt the situation in their favour. Either England or New Zealand losing today won’t affect their chances to qualify. Their game against England on 10 June will be a must win situation for them in any case. If they lose, they will be ousted.

England currently enjoys the safest position in the group with two chances left in the tournament. A win in any of the two matches will see them qualify for the semis. But if they fail to do so, Australia and New Zealand will see themselves through.

Rains affecting the Australian matches have led them to a do or die situation from what could have been an easy win against Bangladesh. Similar could be said against them as they were three wickets down for 53 chasing 292 against New Zealand in 45 overs. With three matches left the group no one would hope any further rain interruptions.