World cup 2011 cricket,quarter-final scenarios!!!

With only two relevant games left in the group stages of the World Cup, the quarter-final line-ups look much clearer now. A look at what the remaining results will mean to the quarter-final match-ups:

 

Scenario 1: If Australia and India win their last group games
In this case Australia will head their group, followed by Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Pakistan, in that order. Group B will look thus: South Africa, India, England, West Indies. The quarter-final line-ups will be:

Australia v West Indies - Mirpur
New Zealand v India - Ahmedabad (March 24)
Pakistan v South Africa - Mirpur
Sri Lanka v England - Colombo (March 26) 

Scenario 2: If Pakistan and India win their last group games

Pakistan will take top spot with Australia slipping to three, while Sri Lanka will stay second and New Zealand will become fourth. The Group B positions will obviously stay unchanged. The quarter-finals:

Pakistan v West Indies - Mirpur
Australia v India - Ahmedabad (March 24)
New Zealand v South Africa - Mirpur
Sri Lanka v England - Colombo (March 26) 

Scenario 3: If Australia and West Indies win their last group games

The Group A standings will stay the same as in Scenario 1, while West Indies will move to second place behind South Africa, pushing India and England to third and fourth place. India will retain third place unless they lose very badly (for example, if they get bowled out for 139 or fewer chasing 300). The quarter-finals:

Australia v England
Sri Lanka v India - Ahmedabad (March 24)
New Zealand v West Indies
Pakistan v South Africa 

Scenario 4: If Pakistan and West Indies win their last group games

The Group A standings will be the same as in Scenario 2 (Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand, in that order), while Group B will be exactly like in Scenario 3. The quarter-finals:

Pakistan v England
Sri Lanka v India - Ahmedabad (March 24)
Australia v West Indies
New Zealand v South Africa 

The only realistic way India can play Pakistan is if India win or get one point from their last game, and Pakistan get a point from their match against Australia (either through a washout or a tie). In that case the Group A standing will be Australia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, New Zealand, while Group B will be South Africa, India, West Indies, England.

The other remote possibility for an India-Pakistan clash is if Pakistan top their group and if India lose to West Indies by a huge margin (as mentioned above), but that, most likely, is only a theoretical possibility.