T20 World Cup: Twin washouts break up Group 1’s tie for first place with four teams, including Ireland; the whole points table

The T20 World Cup’s Thursday was relatively quiet since both of Friday’s games were called off without a ball being bowled. Both of the games—between Afghanistan and Ireland and between England and Australia—were supposed to be played in Melbourne, but weather prevented even the toss from happening in either of the two. As a consequence, the teams had to split the points, which allowed Group 1 to become more competitive.

Following Afghanistan’s loss to Ireland, Ireland—who had previously defeated England earlier in the group—rose to third place. However, Mohammad Nabi’s team suffered a second consecutive abandoned game; as a result of their defeat to England in their first game, Afghanistan remains at the bottom of the standings.

England, however, benefits from their decisive victory against Afghanistan in the tournament’s first encounter, moving them up to second place in the group with three points from as many games. Australia has three points after the washout as well, but a costly defeat to New Zealand keeps them in fourth place in the standings owing to a lower net-run rate.

Here are the complete points standings after Friday’s washouts:

India, however, continues to lead Group 2 with four points after triumphing in both of its matches against Pakistan and the Netherlands, respectively. Pakistan, however, suffered a severe blow after falling to fifth place in the standings on Thursday due to their dramatic one-run defeat to Zimbabwe.

After a resounding victory against Bangladesh earlier in the day on Thursday, South Africa is now in second place with three points. The Proteas also lost their initial match against Zimbabwe despite being in a position to secure a significant victory over the team in maroon.

An intriguing Group 2 matchup between India and South Africa will take place on Sunday night.