The ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2023 has come down to the penultimate match of the Super Sixes stage to determine the final participant for the ICC World Cup 2023 to be held in India in October-November this year.
The Sri Lanka national cricket team has already qualified for the ICC World Cup 2023. Under the leadership of captain Dasun Shanaka, Sri Lanka booked their place in the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup after winning all their matches in the ongoing qualifiers.
Sri Lanka beat United Arab Emirates, Oman, Ireland and Scotland in their Group B fixtures of the ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2023, before defeating the Netherlands and hosts Zimbabwe to top the Super Sixes standings with eight points from four matches.
Meanwhile, West Indies, Oman and Zimbabwe have been knocked out of the race to the 10-team quadrennial event.
Hosts Zimbabwe were one of the favourites to qualify for the upcoming ODI World Cup after they stunned two-time winners West Indies in the group stage of the ongoing qualifiers.
However, they were later thrashed by Sri Lanka, before succumbing to a shocking loss against Scotland in the Super Sixes to get eliminated from the qualification race.
As Zimbabwe can no longer qualify due to their poor net run-rate, the Scotland vs Netherlands Super Sixes match will now decide the final spot in the ICC World Cup 2023. Know the ICC World Cup Qualifiers 2023 qualification scenarios.
How can Scotland qualify for ICC World Cup 2023?
The Scotland national cricket team has their destiny in their own hands. The Richie Berrington-led Scotland just need to win their Super Sixes match against the Netherlands on Thursday to qualify for ICC World Cup 2023.
In case they lose against the Netherlands, they can still advance to the marquee ICC 50-over tournament. Scotland have to ensure that the Netherlands does not win by 32 or more runs, or chase the required target with less than six overs to spare.
If rain plays spoilsport and the match is abandoned, Scotland will still qualify for the ICC World Cup 2023.
How can the Netherlands qualify for the ICC World Cup 2023?
The Netherlands national cricket team needs to beat Scotland by 31+ runs or chase down the required target with six overs to spare in order to finish with a better net run-rate than the Scots and qualify for the ICC World Cup 2023.
If the Dutch even win by less than nine runs or chase the required target after 48.3 overs, they will be knocked out of the qualification race.
Photo credit: Alamy