There is a viral message that is doing the rounds on Whatsapp regarding the ongoing Cricket World Cup, and our readers wanted us to verify if the predictions mentioned in it are practically possible. We heeded their request and decided to look into it.
What raised a lot of eyebrows is the fact that the message has predicted a couple of major upsets: India losing to Zimbabwe and Pakistan losing to United Arab Emirates. While India and Pakistan have been well below par of late, it is highly unlikely that they will lose to those oppositions.
But when we looked deeper into it, we found that the knockout stage predictions are totally flawed. Here are all the predictions mentioned in the message:
Match-by-match predictions of the World Cup as per the viral Whatsapp text
| Date | Match | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| February 14 | New Zealand v Sri Lanka | New Zealand |
| February 14 | Australia v England | Australia |
| February 15 | South Africa v Zimbabwe | South Africa |
| February 15 | India v Pakistan | India |
| February 16 | Ireland v West Indies | Ireland |
| February 17 | New Zealand v Scotland | New Zealand |
| February 18 | Afghanistan v Bangladesh | Bangladesh |
| February 19 | United Arab Emirates v Zimbabwe | Zimbabwe |
| February 20 | New Zealand v England | New Zealand |
| February 21 | Pakistan v West Indies | Pakistan |
| February 21 | Australia v Bangladesh | Australia |
| February 22 | Afghanistan v Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka |
| February 22 | India v South Africa | South Africa |
| February 23 | England v Scotland | England |
| February 24 | West Indies v Zimbabwe | West Indies |
| February 25 | Ireland v United Arab Emirates | Ireland |
| February 26 | Afghanistan v Scotland | Afghanistan |
| February 26 | Bangladesh v Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka |
| February 27 | South Africa v West Indies | South Africa |
| February 28 | New Zealand v Australia | New Zealand |
| February 28 | India v United Arab Emirates | India |
| March 1 | England v Sri Lanka | England |
| March 1 | Pakistan v Zimbabwe | Pakistan |
| March 3 | Ireland v South Africa | South Africa |
| March 4 | Pakistan v United Arab Emirates | UAE |
| March 4 | Australia v Afghanistan | Australia |
| March 5 | Bangladesh v Scotland | Bangladesh |
| March 6 | India v West Indies | India |
| March 7 | Pakistan v South Africa | South Africa |
| March 7 | Ireland v Zimbabwe | Zimbabwe |
| March 8 | New Zealand v Afghanistan | New Zealand |
| March 8 | Australia v Sri Lanka | Australia |
| March 9 | England v Bangladesh | England |
| March 10 | India v Ireland | India |
| March 11 | Scotland v Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka |
| March 12 | South Africa v United Arab Emirates | South Africa |
| March 13 | New Zealand v Bangladesh | New Zealand |
| March 13 | Afghanistan v England | England |
| March 14 | India v Zimbabwe | Zimbabwe |
| March 14 | Australia v Scotland | Australia |
| March 15 | United Arab Emirates v West Indies | West Indies |
| March 15 | Ireland v Pakistan | Pakistan |
| QF1 | New Zealand v India | India |
| QF2 | Australia v Zimbabwe | Australia |
| QF3 | England v South Africa | South Africa |
| QF4 | Sri Lanka v Pakistan | Sri Lanka |
| SF1 | Australia v India | Australia |
| SF2 | Sri Lanka v South Africa | South Africa |
| Final | Australia v South Africa | South Africa |
According to the predicted results, at the end of the group stages, this is how both the pools will stand:
| Teams | Matches | Wins | Losses |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand (A1) | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Australia (A2) | 6 | 5 | 1 |
| England (A3) | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| Sri Lanka (A4) | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Bangladesh | 6 | 2 | 4 |
| Afghanistan | 6 | 1 | 5 |
| Scotland | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Teams | Matches | Wins | Losses |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa (B1) | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| India (B2) | 6 | 4 | 2 |
| Zimbabwe (B3) | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Pakistan (B4) | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| West Indies | 6 | 2 | 4 |
| Ireland | 6 | 2 | 4 |
| United Arab Emirates | 6 | 1 | 5 |