2023 Cricket World Cup group stage



The 2023 Cricket World Cup group stage was played in a round-robin league format, with all ten teams playing each other once in a single group, resulting in a total of 45 matches being played. The top four teams from the group progressed to the knockout stage. This format was the same as the preceding 2019 Cricket World Cup and was also used in the 1992 Cricket World Cup.

India won the group stage, defeating all other teams, as well as winning the semi-finals. New Zealand, South Africa and Australia also qualified for the knockout stages as a result of finishing in the top four. In the final, Australia beat India by six wickets to win their sixth World Cup.

England vs New Zealand
The two teams had met each other ten times in World Cups, most recently in the final of the 2019 edition which ended in a tie. England would go on win the tie-breaker, and the World Cup. In their earlier nine meetings, England had won four and lost five. In the rematch, New Zealand won the toss and sent England to bat first. England started off slow before captain Jos Buttler's arrival in the 22nd over improved their run rate. He hit two fours and sixes each, before being dismissed for 43. Joe Root's 77 and a tenth wicket partnership of 30 runs took England's total to 282. New Zealand's reply began with opening batter Will Young's dismissal for a first-ball duck. However, Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra, who was promoted to take an injured Kane Williamson's spot, put on an unbeaten 273-run stand for the second wicket. The duo started strongly and hit 13 fours and two sixes in the first Powerplay. In their debut World Cup appearances, they went on to make 152 and 123 runs respectively, and saw their team home with 13.4 overs to spare.

Netherlands vs Pakistan
This was the seventh match between the teams and third in World Cups, and the Netherlands were yet to secure a victory against Pakistan. The Netherlands won the toss and chose to field. Pakistan were reduced to 38/3 before Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan put on 120 runs for the fourth wicket, with both making half-centuries, the former's coming in 32 balls. Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan then added 64 runs together, taking their team's total to a respectable 286. Bas de Leede stood out as the top bowler for the Netherlands, claiming four wickets. The Netherlands innings got off to a shaky start, losing Max O'Dowd early on, but Vikramjit Singh and Colin Ackermann provided some stability. However, the latter could not stick around for long and was dismissed to a loose shot off Iftikhar Ahmed. de Leede and Singh formed a vital partnership of 70 runs, with both players reaching half-centuries. Singh's departure triggered a collapse from 120 for 3 to 158 for 6. The lower order offered some resistance, with Logan van Beek hitting a few lusty blows in the end but the team fell short by 81 runs.

Afghanistan vs Bangladesh
Having defeated Afghanistan in both their previous World Cup meetings, Bangladesh put them to bat after winning the toss. Afghanistan began strongly and were at 83/1 after 15 overs. Shakib Al Hasan, appearing in his fifth World Cup, claimed three wickets as did Mehidy Hasan. Hashmatullah Shahidi (18) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz's dismissals when Afghanistan were at 112/2, led to a collapse of their middle and lower order, before the team was all out 44 runs after. With the ball, Afghanistan reduced Bangladesh to 27/2 and missed two catching opportunities of Mehidy Hasan, who made the best of it by putting on 97 runs with Nazmul Hossain Shanto for the third wicket. The partnership helped Bangladesh hand their opponents their thirteenth straight loss in World Cups.

South Africa vs Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka entered the match on the back of a solitary win against South Africa in their six World Cup meetings. Upon losing captain Temba Bavuma's wicket early on after being sent in to bat, Quinton de Kock and Rassie van der Dussen steadied South Africa's innings taking them to 118/1 after 20 overs. Both would go on to make centuries, 100 and 108 respectively, followed by the fastest ever in World Cups by Aiden Markram. Markram's innings included 14 fours and three sixes, and he particularly attacked Sri Lanka's paceman Matheesha Pathirana, who gave away 95 runs off his ten overs. Multiple records were broken in South Africa's innings, including the first instance of three batters making centuries in a World Cup match. Sri Lanka's chase of 428 began with one-drop Kusal Mendis reaching a half-century before any of his teammates had scored a single run. His innings of 76 came off 42 balls and included eight sixes. Fifties from Charith Asalanka (79) and captain Dasun Shanaka (68) briefly kept their team's chase alive, but the team fell short by 102 runs despite some late hitting by Kasun Rajitha.

Australia vs India
Australia came into the match with a 8–4 record against India in World Cups. They started off strong with the bat and were 74/1 before a fluent David Warner (41) was dismissed caught and bowled by Kuldeep Yadav. Fellow spinner Ravindra Jadeja then claimed three wickets in a space of eleven deliveries reducing Australia to 119/5. Top-scorer Steve Smith's outside edge was beaten by a Jadeja delivery turning enough to hit his off stump. Captain Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc's late hitting took their team to 199. Controlled bowling effort by India meant a total of 171 dot balls were bowled. India's start with the bat was historically poor — three of their top four were dismissed without scoring — a first for them. While Starc took Ishan Kishan's wicket, fellow paceman Josh Hazlewood claimed Rohit Sharma and Shreyas Iyer, reducing India to two for three. Virat Kohli (85) made the best of his dropped catch in the eighth over by Mitchell Marsh and added 165 runs for the fourth wicket with KL Rahul, the highest fourth wicket partnership for India in World Cups. Both consistently rotated strike and scored only 14 fours and two sixes between them, helping their team reach the target with 8.4 overs remaining.

Netherlands vs New Zealand
The two teams had met only once in World Cups before, with New Zealand winning the game, in 1996. The Netherlands bowlers started off with three maiden overs, before New Zealand's Devon Conway and Will Young put on 67 runs together. Young then added 77 runs with Rachin Ravindra (51) for the third wicket. Daryl Mitchell's 48, Tom Latham's 53 off 46 and Mitchell Santner's 36 off 17 meant New Zealand posted a target of 323. Left-armer Santner made the best of the spin-friendly wicket and claimed the first five-wicket haul by a New Zealand spinner in World Cups, using his variation in pace. Colin Ackermann offered resistance with his strokeplay and put together 50 runs with Teja Nidamanuru, before the latter was run out. Santner, who chipped with wickets at regular intervals in the middle overs, removed captain Scott Edwards caught and bowled. Matt Henry's bounce and pace yielded him three wickets, including a bowled attempt of Vikramjit Singh. The Netherlands fell 99 runs short after he cleaned their tail up picking the final two wickets.

Pakistan vs Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka got off to a strong start with the bat and were 229/3 after 30 overs. Kusal Mendis's century off 65 balls, which he reached with a six, was the fastest by a Sri Lanka player in World Cups. He particularly punished Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf, finished his innings striking at 158.44. His partners were Pathum Nissanka (51) and Sadeera Samarawickrama, who made 108 off 89 deliveries, helping his team go past 300. Pakistan looked in trouble at 37/2 having lost captain Babar Azam in the eighth over. However, Abdullah Shafique and Mohammad Rizwan brought them back into the game, courtesy their 176-run stand for the third wicket. Shafique, who came in as a replacement to Fakhar Zaman, made 113, the most by a Pakistan debutant in World Cups. Rizwan battled through cramps and remained unbeaten at 131, helping his team attain the highest successful chase in World Cup history, Pakistan's previous record being 263. With the run rate climbing through the middle overs, the Pakistan batters accelerated their chase making 163 off the last 20 overs, thus extending their lead to 8–0 against their opponents in World Cups.

Afghanistan vs India
India had won their only previous encounter against Afghanistan in World Cups. Afghanistan's openers fell cheaply and one-drop Rahmat Shah's dismissal left his team at 63 for 3. The team's only notable partnership came for the fourth wicket when captain Hashmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai put on 121 runs, before the latter was bowled out by a Hardik Pandya slower ball for 62. Kuldeep Yadav slowed the run rate for his opponents, and went on to removed Shahidi, who had stuck to the crease despite his partners falling at the other end. Pacer Jasprit Bumrah then restricted Afghanistan to adding only 83 in the final 15 overs. India's reply began with captain Rohit Sharma scoring in blistering fashion. He reached in century off 63 balls, overtaking Kapil Dev's 1983 effort for the fastest century by an India player in World Cup history. His effortless hitting involved to a 100-run stand with Ishan Kishan, with the latter only contributing 14 runs in the partnership. Kishan's dismissal for 47 and later Sharma's meant Virat Kohli (55) and Shreyas Iyer (25) took their team home with 15 overs to spare.

Australia vs South Africa
Australia held the head-to-head edge over South Africa in World Cups by a 3–2 margin, with one match ending in a tie. South Africa got off to a quiet start with the bat through openers Quinton de Kock and captain Temba Bavuma. de Kock then took charge through a six and a couple of fours across the fifth and sixth overs, and the two put on a 108-run stand, before Rassie van der Dussen added 50 runs with de Kock for the second wicket. de Kock would go on make his second century on the trot, an innings that included eight fours and five sixes, before Aiden Markram (56) and Heinrich Klaasen (29) combined to add another fifty-run stand for their team. Australia pulled their opponents back when they were 263/3 after 43 overs, with their pacemen picking a few wickets towards the end of the innings. The innings was marked by poor fielding by Australia, who dropped five catches. Australia's top-order fell cheaply with only Marnus Labuschagne (46 off 74), batting alongside Mitchell Starc (29), offering some resistance to South Africa's bowling. Lungi Ngidi (1/18) and Marco Jansen (2/54) were impressive with the new ball, and helped reduce Australia to 70/6 as early as the 18th over. Steve Smith and Marcus Stoinis were both given out by the third umpire following referrals, both off Kagiso Rabada, who also bowled out Josh Inglis. Australia's only other notable stand came between Pat Cummins and Adam Zampa who made 32 runs between them. Dismissed for 177, they suffered their 15th loss in the last 18 matches against South Africa, the last four of them by more than 100-run margins.