India's quest to win their maiden ICC Women's T20 World Cup began on the right note as the team defeated arch-rivals Pakistan by 64 runs in their opening fixture. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side did not rest on their laurels as they next defeated newcomers Netherlands by a huge 95 runs.
However, the team suffered their first setback as two-time finalists South Africa defeated them by six wickets on Sunday, June 21. The defeat has jeopardised India's chances of qualifying for the semi-finals.
All is not lost for the Women in Blue as they still have the chance to make it to the knock-out stage of the tournament.
How Can India Qualify For The Semi-Finals?
The 2026 World Cup is seeing participation of 12 teams who are split into two groups.
While Australia, India, Pakistan, Netherlands, Bangladesh and South Africa are in in Group 1, England, New Zealand, Ireland Scotland, Sri Lanka and the West Indies are in Group 2.
Every team plays every other team of its group once and the top two teams of each group will qualify for the semi-finals.
Following India's match against South Africa this is how the Group 1 looks like:
India's qualification hopes remain firmly in their own hands though. If they win both of their remaining matches against Bangladesh and Australia, they can secure a semifinal spot as long as their Net Run Rate (NRR) is superior to either South Africa's or Australia's. Any slip-up by South Africa or Australia in their remaining fixtures would further strengthen India's chances.
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If India win one and lose one of their remaining games, they will require South Africa to lose at least one of their two matches. In that scenario, India must also finish with a better NRR than both South Africa and Bangladesh. However, a defeat to Bangladesh would end India's campaign immediately.
Should India lose both of their remaining matches, they will be eliminated from the tournament regardless of results elsewhere.
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