Asia Cup - Road to the Finals
June 27th, 2008Road to the Final – A Statistical Look-in
After a not so exciting first round fans will be looking forward to a few intriguing clashes with the four bigger teams, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh in the fray in the Super Four. India and Sri Lanka will start as favorites to move into the finals as they carry two points each from the group phase courtesy wins against Pakistan and Bangladesh respectively.
India and Sri Lanka need to win two of their three matches in Super Four to advance to the final while Pakistan need to win all three to avoid the hassles of net run rate. India and Sri Lanka also need to win at least two of the three matches to reach to the final. Only one win will have them on four points and at a lower net run rate, as the only the points and not the run rate of the match are carried on from the group phase. Amidst all these Bangladesh could spoil the party of one of three giants.
Exploring a possibility where India wins all its matches in the Super Four, interesting implications follow:-
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- If Sri Lanka defeat Pakistan and Bangladesh, they go through.
- If Pakistan wins it’s other two matches and Sri Lanka defeat Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be locked at four points each. This situation will favor Pakistan as Sri Lanka will not carry the positive run rate they earned in the first round.
India look the strongest of the three sides and Sri Lanka are the second most favored team to reach the finals. But leaving aside all the possibilities and probabilities the three matches involving the three giants promise a feast ahead.
Dr. Mohit Goyal © IPL Cricket Forum
http://goyalmohit.blogspot.com
Posted in Cricket News |