ICC World T20: Everything you need to know about the format and points system
West Indies enter this year’s World T20 as the defending champions.
The fifth edition of the ICC World T20 will get under way in Bangladesh on March 16 with the largest pool of teams that the tournament has witnessed in its short history.
Ireland, Afghanistan, Nepal, United Arab Emirates, Netherlands and Hong Kong featured in the 16-team qualifiers late last year and booked their places for the big event. The 6 associate member teams of the ICC will join the 10 full members, which means that 16 teams will battle it out over three weeks to be crowned the undisputed kings of the shortest form of the game.
Here is a detailed look into how the tournament will unfold.
Round 1 :
8 teams, divided into two groups according to their seedings, will battle it out in a round-robin format to enter the tournament proper. The topper from each group will proceed to the next stage of the tournament, which has been dubbed the ‘Super 10 series’.
Bangladesh are expected to make it to the next round from Group A, but Afghanistan have shown in the Asia Cup that they are more than capable of spoiling the hosts’ party. Group B has a slightly more competitive look to it with all four teams capable of beating the other on any given day.
Points System and Tiebreaker scenario:
A win in Round 1 will fetch a team 2 points. In case of a tie/no result/abandoned game, both teams will gain 1 point each. A team will not get any points for a loss.
If teams are locked on points in their group, then the following (in order of priority) will apply to decide the team that progresses to the Super 10 series.
- The team with more wins in the group.
- In case of equal points and wins, the team with the higher net run rate.
- If still equal, then the team winning the head-to-head in the group.
- If still undecided or none of the group matches produce results, then the team with the highest seeding in the group.
Round 2:
The two teams from 1st round will be placed in two separate groups for Round 2. No points will be carried forward from Round 1.
Each team will play all the other teams in its group. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals.
Points System and Tiebreaker scenario :
A win in Round 1 will fetch a team 2 points. In case of a tie/no result/abandoned game, both teams will gain 1 point each. A team will not get any points for a loss.
If teams are locked on points in their group, then the following (in order of priority) will apply to decide the teams that progress to the semi-finals.
- Team with most wins in the second round.
- In case of equal points and wins, the team with the higher net run rate in the second round.
- If still equal, then the team winning the head-to-head in the group.
- If still undecided or none of the group matches produce results, then the team with the highest seeding in the group.
Knockout stages :
In the semis, Group 1 winners will play Group 2 runners-up whereas Group 2 winners will take on Group 1 runners-up.
In case of a tied semi-final, a super over will be used as a tiebreaker. If the super over can’t be completed or match is abandoned, or there is no result, then the team topping its group in the second round progresses to the final.
The winners of the two semifinals will contest for the ICC World T20 trophy on 6th of April at Mirpur.
In case of a tied final, a super over will be used as a tiebreaker. If the super over can’t be completed or match is abandoned, or there is no result, then the teams will be declared joint winners.