Minnows churn the waters at Dhaka

The situation in the other three groups:

Group A:

Sri Lanka has full points after beating Zimbabwe and Canada. But while Canada is out of it with zero points, Zimbabwe upset the applecart by beating Australia. Either Zimbabwe or Australia could find themselves in the Plate playoffs. Australia must beat Sri Lanka to stay in contention for a Super League place and then compare run rates — all three of them being on four points.

Group B:

Nepal’s win against South Africa on Wednesday has thrown open possibilities not just for the group but for the future of the game. After losing meekly to England, no on expected Nepal to throw a spanner in the Saf wheels — but they are now on four points, the same as England, who have a game in hand. South Africa have to beat England to reach a situation similar to Group A, involving a comparison of run rates.

Group C:

India are clear leaders at this stage with full points and a match against hosts Bangladesh remaining. Scotland are out of it, possibly the hosts too, because New Zealand have ended on four as well, like Zimbabwe and Nepal. But Bangladesh have shown ample proof of their ability so far in the tournament, especially spinners Shahadat Hussain and Enamol Haque who picked seven between them against Scotland and opener Nafis Iqbal (a well-compiled 67 against NZ).

As things stand at the moment then, only Pakistan and West Indies are sure Super League contestants. India, Sri Lanka and England have a stronger chance than their respective group mates, but as explained above, the run rates come into play if the last group match results continue to throw up unexpecteds. Just the sort of thing that makes tournaments such as these more attractive than they would be otherwise.