Leeds: As the round-robin league stage of 2019 World Cup came to end the semifinal fixtures have been confirmed. India's seven-wicket win against Sri Lanka and Australia's 10-run defeat to South Africa on Saturday helped the Men in Blue to top the points table.
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Now, 1983 and 2011 World Cup winners, India, will take on fourth-placed New Zealand in the semifinal 1 at Old Trafford, Manchester on July 9 while second-placed Australia will play semifinal 2 against the hosts England, who finished third, at Edgbaston, Birmingham on July 11.
India to take on NZ in semifinal 1 while Australia will face England semifinal 2. On Saturday, defending champions Australia's heartwrenching defeat against struggling South Africa confirmed that India, who defeated Sri Lanka earlier on Saturday, grab pole position with 15 points in nine games- 7 wins, 1 defeat and 1 washout.
Australia ended their league phase campaign with 14 points, just one point behind of India. The Aussies won 7 matches and lost 2 while England, who started their World Cup campaign as red-hot favourites, suffered 3 defeats, which surprised many cricket pundits, and won 6 to finish on the third position with 12 points. England's win against New Zealand in their final league match saw Pakistan bowing out of the tournament.
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Meanwhile, the Black Caps finished at the fourth position with 11 points with 5 wins, 3 defeats and 1 washout. The Kiwis advanced to the last-four stage edging out Pakistan, thanks to their better net run-rate.
Australia will face England in semifinal 2 on July 11 at Edgbaston. Australia's unexpected defeat against the Proteas while chasing 326 runs target meant David Warner's brilliant 122 runs innings goes in vain at the Old Trafford. Earlier, openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul slammed a hundred each as India handed Sri Lanka seven-wicket defeat in Lasith Malinga's last ODI World Cup match to go top.
