The battle to reach Super-8 in T20 World Cup 2026 has become exciting. There is a tough competition in every group and no one is ready to accept defeat. Although, there have not been many upsets in this World Cup as compared to earlier, but still one or two teams which looked weak on paper have shown strong play. So far, a total of five teams including India have qualified for the Super-Eight, while five teams are out of the race. Now there is a competition between 10 teams for the three vacant places in the Super-Eight. Let’s look at the qualification equation of Super-Eight and know what the whole matter is…
First know how many teams have qualified for Super-8 from which group so far.
Note: 2-2 teams from each group will go to Super-8. NRR stands for Net Run Rate. Q means qualified and E means eliminated.
Group A Marks Table
Team Match Win Loss Points NRR
India (Q) 3 3 0 6 +3.050
USA 4 2 2 4 +0.787
Pakistan 3 2 1 4 -0.403
Netherlands 3 1 2 2 -1.352
Namibia (E) 3 0 3 0 -2.443
Group B Marks Table
Team Match Win Loss Points NRR
Sri Lanka (Q) 3 3 0 6 +2.462
Zimbabwe 2 2 0 4 +1.984
Australia 3 1 2 2 +0.414
Ireland 3 1 2 2 +0.150
Oman (E) 3 0 3 0 -4.546
Group C Marks Table
Team Match Win Loss Points NRR
West Indies (Q) 3 3 0 6 +1.820
England (Q) 4 3 1 6 +0.201
Scotland (E) 3 1 2 2 +0.359
Italy (E) 3 1 2 2 -0.588
Nepal (E) 3 0 3 0 -1.942
Group D Marks Table
Team Match Win Loss Points NRR
The. Africa (Q) 3 3 0 6 +1.477
New Zealand 3 2 1 4 +0.701
Afghanistan 3 1 2 2 -0.215
UAE 3 1 2 2 -0.797
Canada 2 0 2 0 -1.526
Now before the last matches of the group stage, the picture of qualification has become clear to a great extent.
Condition of all groups in 4 points
From Group A, India first got the ticket to Super-8 with three consecutive wins. The big win of 61 runs over Pakistan further strengthened the confidence of the team. Now the race for the other team from this group is interesting. Pakistan national cricket team has to face Namibia in its last match. The win will take them directly to the next round, but if Pakistan loses, then the US team with two wins can move ahead on the basis of better net run rate (NRR). In Group B, Sri Lanka entered the Super-8 by defeating Australia by eight wickets. This result brought the Australian team to the brink of elimination. Australia can advance only if the Zimbabwe national cricket team loses both its remaining matches and its net run rate is also worse than Australia. If Zimbabwe wins even one match, Australia’s path will be closed. Apart from this, Ireland team is also in the equation. If Ireland wins big over Zimbabwe, i.e. by 100 runs or by finishing the match in 10 overs and reaches four points, then their net run rate can be better than Australia and the team can go to Super-8. In this situation, Ireland will have to convince Zimbabwe to lose the last group match to Sri Lanka. If Zimbabwe beats Sri Lanka, then it will be certain that Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe will reach the finals. In Group C, the England team registered its third win of the tournament by defeating Italy by 24 runs and made it to the Super-8. The West Indies team had already reached the next round with three wins in three matches. Now the rest of the teams in this group will play only for respect. After Afghanistan team’s victory over UAE in Group D, South Africa made it to the Super-8. Now if New Zealand wins its last group match against Canada, it will also qualify. However, there is a surprising equation. If Canada wins, then Afghanistan can get a chance to move ahead on the basis of net run rate by winning against Canada by a big margin. That is, the teams that have qualified for Super-8 are India from Group-A (6 points, +3.050 NRR), Sri Lanka from Group-B (6 points, +2.462 NRR), West Indies from Group-C (6 points, +1.820 NRR) and England (6 points, +0.201 NRR) and South Africa (6 points, +1.477 NRR) from Group D. India still have one match left in the group stage (18 February against Netherlands), one match of Sri Lanka (19 February against Zimbabwe), one match of West Indies (19 February against Italy) and one match of South Africa (18 February against UAE).
Battle of 10 teams for the remaining three places of Super-8
Three places are still vacant for Super-8 in T20 World Cup 2026 and 10 teams are still in the race. The battle for three places is very exciting. The fate of some teams depends on their own performance (Pakistan, New Zealand), while some await the results of other matches (USA, Ireland, UAE). The coming matches will decide what the picture of Super-8 will be and perhaps some more big upsets will also be seen. Let us understand whose position is team-by-team:
group b
Zimbabwe (4 points, +1.984 NRR): Zimbabwe pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament, defeating Australia by 23 runs. Is in a strong position after winning two matches. Now he has to play against Ireland and Sri Lanka. Another win could almost take them to the Super-8.
Ireland (2 points, +0.150 NRR): Ireland’s hopes are very weak. There has been only one win (against Oman) in three matches. Even if it beats Zimbabwe, it will have to depend on the results of other matches.
Australia (2 points, +0.414 NRR): Australia are on the verge of elimination after the loss to Sri Lanka. Now they need a big win over Oman and hope that Zimbabwe loses to both Ireland and Sri Lanka. In such a situation, the matter may ultimately get stuck on net run rate.
USA (4 points, +0.788 NRR): USA has played all its group matches. Now his eyes are on the results of Pakistan. If Pakistan loses, USA may advance due to better net run rate. Shadley van Schalkwyk is the top wicket-taker of the tournament with 13 wickets.
Netherlands (2 points, -1.352 NRR): The road for the Dutch team is very difficult. They will have to pull off a big upset against India and hope that Pakistan loses badly to Namibia. The close defeat in the first match against Pakistan is costing them dearly.
Pakistan (4 points, -0.139 NRR): Pakistan’s fate is in its own hands. Super-8 is confirmed as soon as it wins the last match, but in case of defeat, India will have to hope that it beats Netherlands. His performance so far has been full of ups and downs.
Group C
Afghanistan (2 points, -0.215 NRR): Afghanistan has a tough road ahead, but there is hope. The campaign remains alive with the win over UAE. Now they need a big win over Canada and also hope that Canada beats New Zealand first, so that the equation becomes in their favor.
group d
Canada (0 points, -1.526 NRR): Mathematically still in the race despite losing both their opening matches. Only big wins over New Zealand and Afghanistan can give him hope. Some players have definitely given excellent individual performances.
New Zealand (4 points, +0.701 NRR): New Zealand are in a strong position. The equation is clear, beat Canada and reach the Super-8. A win by any margin would be enough.
UAE (2 points, -0.797 NRR): UAE’s chances are very slim. If New Zealand beats Canada then their journey will end. But if Canada wins, the UAE will have to register a big win over South Africa.
These five teams were out of the race for Super-8
The journey of five teams ended in the group stage itself. However, some of these teams, especially Italy and Nepal, impressed with their spirit. The race for the Super-Eight is going to be even more exciting.
group c
Italy (2 points, -0.588 NRR): Italy qualified for the Cricket World Cup in any format for the first time and won everyone’s hearts with their performance. The team consisting of players of Australia, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India origin played well. Apart from the loss to Scotland, they defeated Nepal and gave a tough fight to two-time champions England. Although his journey ended before the Super-8, he definitely made many fans.
Nepal (0 points, -1.942 NRR): Nepal started the tournament on a strong note and almost defeated England. Chasing the target of 184 runs, they reached 180/6, but missed out on victory. After this the team’s rhythm broke. A 10-wicket defeat by Italy and defeat by West Indies eliminated them from the race for Super-8.
Scotland (2 points, +0.359 NRR): Scotland, a late entry in place of Bangladesh, had a mixed performance. Italy were beaten by 73 runs after the defeat to the West Indies, but a five-wicket defeat to England dashed their hopes. His journey ended with England’s victory over Italy.
Group A
Namibia (0 points, -2.443 NRR): Namibia got off to good starts on a few occasions, especially in the run chase against USA, but could not convert it into a win. Their journey ended in the group stage after defeats against USA, India and Netherlands.
group b
Oman (0 points, -4.546 NRR): This tournament was very disappointing for Oman. They could not win a single match with an eight-wicket loss to Zimbabwe, a big run defeat and a defeat against Ireland. His performance was similar in the 2024 T20 World Cup also.
How will the groups be formed in Super-8?
The eight teams that qualify from the group stage will play in the Super-8 stage. Here these teams will be divided into two groups of four teams each. Each team will play three matches against the other three teams in its group. ICC has already decided the seeding system for Super-8. However, if a bigger or seeded team is eliminated in the group stage, the team that qualified by defeating it will play the Super-8 in the same slot. That means the code that was given to the old team will not change, only the team will change.
For example, the ICC was confident that Australia would qualify for the Super-8s and was given the X2 seed. Now that Zimbabwe has made an upset and its entry into the Super-8 is certain and Australia’s exit is considered certain, then the X2 seed will now be given to Zimbabwe. The four groups and the seeds already given by ICC in them are as follows-
Group A: India (X1), Namibia, Netherlands, Pakistan (Y3), USA
Group B: Australia (X2), Ireland, Oman, Sri Lanka (Y4), Zimbabwe (X2 seed to Zimbabwe if Australia exits, if Zimbabwe qualifies)
Group C: England (Y1), Italy, Nepal, Scotland, West Indies (X3)
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, New Zealand (Y2), South Africa (X4), UAE
In Super-8, eight teams will be divided into two groups X and Y. ICC had already decided the seeded teams. According to him, the Super-8 group may look something like this-
Group-1 Seed (X): India, Zimbabwe (not decided yet, earlier Australia was here, but is in danger of being out), West Indies, South Africa.
Group-2 Seed (Y): England, New Zealand (not decided yet), Pakistan (not decided yet, will be decided by victory over Namibia) and Sri Lanka.