Tilak Varma, right, and Suryakumar Yadav celebrate the wicket of Pakistan’s Shadab Khan. (AP Photo)

NEW DELHI: The ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 is at the fag end of the group stage matches. Till Monday (February 16), 30 out of 40 group stage matches have been completed in the tournament, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. The race for Super Eights spots is in full swing.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!So far, five teams have booked their tickets to the next stage, namely defending champions India, co-hosts Sri Lanka, the West Indies, England and South Africa. Three spots in Super 8s are still up for grabs.Interestingly, only five of the 20 competing teams have been officially eliminated from the Super 8s race yet, meaning 10 teams are still mathematically in the race for the final three spots.

Only one of the four groups has a complete picture of who has qualified and been eliminated. From Group C, the Windies and England are already in the Super 8s, and the remaining three teams in the group — Scotland (late replacement for Bangladesh), debutants Italy and Nepal — are eliminated.In the other three groups, one spot each is still up for grabs, and only two teams — Namibia from Group A and Oman from Group B — are out of the race.In Group A, India are through to the next stage, and Pakistan, USA and the Netherlands are vying for the remaining spot. USA have played all their four group matches and are in second position behind India in the points table with four points. With four points, Pakistan are third due to an inferior net run rate to USA. Pakistan face Namibia next, and a win will secure their spot in the Super 8s. The Netherlands have a match against India and are still in contention with two points.

In Group B, Sri Lanka stormed into the Super 8s with a thumping win over Australia, leaving the Aussies on the brink of early exit. Australia now need a miracle to progress after two consecutive defeats — against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. Zimbabwe are in the driver’s seat in the race for the remaining spot from the group as they have two matches in hand. A win against Ireland on Tuesday will take Zimbabwe into the Super 8s, leaving Australia’s campaign devastated. Australia can only progress if they beat Oman by a massive margin and Zimbabwe lose both their matches — against Ireland and Sri Lanka.

Group C is sorted, with West Indies and England already through to the next round.

In Group D, last edition’s finalists South Africa are in the Super 8s from the group. Interestingly, all the remaining four teams are still in contention, some realistically and some as a mathematical long shot. New Zealand are at the front of the race with four points, and a win against Canada on Tuesday in their final group game will propel them into the next round. Afghanistan, UAE and Canada are all hoping for the Kiwis to lose their final game to remain in the race.