World Cup 2023 Points Table: South Africa climb to top spot with 134-run win over Australia

Oct 13, 2023 - 01:30

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World Cup 2023 Points Table: South Africa climb to top spot with 134-run win over Australia

The 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup kicked off on Thursday (5 October) at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium with New Zealand defeating defending champions England by nine wickets.

World Cup 2023: News | Schedule | Results | Points table

The Black Caps, who have finished runners-up in each of the last two editions and are eyeing their maiden title this year, thus became the first team to open their accounts on the World Cup points table.

Hosts India too got their campaign off to a winning start in their opening game against Australia in Chennai, triumphing over the five-time world champions by six wickets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

And in their second game on Wednesday, Rohit Sharma (131) and Virat Kohli (55*) helped India thump Afghanistan by eight wickets, chasing down a target of 273 with 15 overs to spare.

Australia, however, have got off to a forgettable start to the World Cup after two defeats in as many matches. After a six-wicket loss to India in Chennai on 8 October, the five-time champions were handed a 134-run thumping by South Africa in their second match in Lucknow on Thursday (12 October).

Australia are in ninth place, ahead of Afghanistan.

South Africa, meanwhile, have taken first place following their big win over the Aussies.

England and Pakistan won their respective fixtures in Tuesday’s double-header in Dharamsala and Hyderabad respectively. While England thrashed Bangladesh by 137 runs to collect the first win of their campaign, Pakistan broke the record for the highest chase in World Cup history in their six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka.

Here’s a detailed look at the ICC World Cup 2023 points table (updated as of 12 October at 10.15 pm):

Position	Team	Matches	Won	Lost	Tied	NR	NRR	Points
1	South Africa	2	2	0	0	0	+2.360	4
2	New Zealand	2	2	0	0	0	+1.958	4
3	India	2	2	0	0	0	+1.500	4
4	Pakistan	2	2	0	0	0	+0.927	4
5	England	2	1	1	0	0	+0.553	2
6	Bangladesh	2	1	1	0	0	-0.653	2
7	Sri Lanka	2	0	2	0	0	-1.161	0
8	Netherlands	2	0	2	0	0	-1.800	0
9	Australia	2	0	2	0	0	-1.846	0
10	Afghanistan	2	0	2	0	0	-1.907	0

The World Cup this year will be hosted entirely in India unlike the previous editions that took place in the sub-continent, in which the cricket-mad nation co-hosted along with Pakistan, Sri Lanka or Bangladesh. It is set to run for more than a month, with the final also taking place at Narendra Modi Stadium on 19 November.

India, who recently were crowned Asian champions following a comprehensive victory over Sri Lanka in the final, are solid favourites heading into the tournament.

The Men in Blue, who are being led by a third different captain in as many editions, have not won an ICC title since the 2013 Champions Trophy and their last World Cup win came in 2011, also at home. They will however, back themselves to end that drought factoring in their recent form as well as home advantage.