New Zealand's juggernaut in the ongoing World Cup 2023 will take some stopping for sure as the Blackcaps have won four out of their four matches thus far with their latest win coming against Afghanistan on Wednesday, October 18.
Playing at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, the Kiwis carried on their top form to rout the Hasmatullah Shahidi-led Afghanistan by 149 runs. The victory over Afghanistan has helped New Zealand dethrone India and reclaim the top spot on the World Cup 2023 points table.
The flamboyant right-handed batter Glenn Phillips was the star with the bat for the runners-up of the previous World Cup edition as he scored 71 off just 80 balls with the help of four boundaries and as many sixes. He played a crucial role in helping the team post 288 on the board and was ably supported by skipper Tom Latham who scored 68 off 74 balls.
The Blackcaps have become the first team to win four games in the tournament and have collected eight points in their kitty. Their Net Run Rate (NRR) of 1.923 is currently the best in the tournament and defines their domineering and consistent run in the tournament thus far.
On the other hand, India have now slipped to the second spot with three wins out of three games and a net run rate of 1.821. They will have their opportunity to reclaim the No. 1 spot on Thursday (October 19) when they face Bangladesh at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.
| Teams | Matches played | Won | Lost | Tied | No Result | Points | Net Run Rate (NRR) |
| New Zealand | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1.923 |
| India | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1.821 |
| South Africa | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1.385 |
| Pakistan | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -0.137 |
| England | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.084 |
| Bangladesh | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.699 |
| Australia | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.734
|
| Netherlands | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.993 |
| Afghanistan | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | -1.250 | ||
| Sri Lanka | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.532 |
