Cricket World Cup 2015 Tables: Results from Pool A and B, Changes to Standings

Australia finally got their second Pool A win of the 2015 World Cup on Wednesday as they crushed Afghanistan by a tournament-record 275 runs.

David Warner scored a mammoth century as the Aussies posted a World Cup-best 417-6 at the WACA in Perth, with Afghanistan falling to 142 all out in response.

In Pool B, Pakistan continued their push for a quarter-final place as they convincingly outperformed the United Arab Emirates, winning by 129 runs after posting a total of 339-6 in Napier.

Here is how the group standings look after Wednesday's action:

Pool A
Pool B
Team	Played	Won	Lost	Tied	No Result	Net Run Rate	Points
New Zealand	4	4	0	0	0	3.59	8
Sri Lanka	4	3	1	0	0	0.13	6
Australia	4	2	1	0	1	1.80	5
Bangladesh	3	1	1	0	1	0.13	3
England	4	1	3	0	0	-1.20	2
Afghanistan	4	1	3	0	0	-1.95	2
Scotland	3	0	3	0	0	-1.74	0
Team	Played	Won	Lost	Tied	No Result	Net Run Rate	Points
India	3	3	0	0	0	2.63	6
South Africa	4	3	1	0	0	1.95	6
West Indies	4	2	2	0	0	-0.31	4
Pakistan	4	2	2	0	0	-0.39	4
Ireland	3	2	1	0	0	-1.14	4
Zimbabwe	4	1	3	0	0	-0.72	2
UAE	4	0	4	0	0	-1.69	0

Having thrashed England on the tournament's opening day, Australia saw their match with Bangladesh abandoned due to rain before suffering a narrow defeat to host partners New Zealand.

Afghanistan felt the full brunt of a favourite's return to winning ways as Australia were put into bat and flew out of the blocks.

Aaron Finch fell in the third over for just four, before Warner and Steve Smith put on 260 together, a record for Australia, per ESPN Cricinfo:

Warner eventually fell for 178 from 133 balls after a brutal knock which included 24 boundaries, the opener caught at mid-on by Mohammad Nabi off the bowling of Shapoor Zadran with just over 12 overs remaining.

The slightly more conservative Smith was dismissed soon after for 95, but Glen Maxwell continued the power scoring by smashing 88 from just 39 balls.

Australia finished their 50 overs with 417 runs, continuing the tournament trend for huge totals which has seen bowlers put under enormous strain, per BBC TMS statistician Andrew Samson:

While Afghanistan have been impressive in their first World Cup, they were simply never going to chase down such a huge total. And so it proved, as they were bowled out for 142 inside 38 overs. Mitchell Johnson was the main aggressor with the ball, as he took four wickets for 22 runs.

Australia sit in third in Pool A, three points back from the Kiwis and a point behind Sri Lanka, whom they face in a key contest on Sunday in Sydney.

Hannah Peters/Getty Images

Pakistan joined West Indies and Ireland on four points in Pool B, as they picked up a crucial victory over the UAE.

Heavy defeats to India and West Indies had seen Pakistan struggling in their pursuit of the knockout rounds, but they are now firmly in the mix with the group stages drawing to a close.

Having been put into bat, Pakistan posted a total of 339-6—further proof this tournament is a batsman's heaven—with Ahmed Shehzad top-scoring with 93 from 105 before he was run out.

He was well-deputised by Haris Sohail, who scored 70, and skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, whose 65 came off 49 balls.

Shahid Afridi, ever the entertainer, added 21 at the end from just seven deliveries, passing a significant milestone in the process, per ICC:

In the chase, UAE were 25-3 inside 10 overs, and even a gallant 62 from Shaiman Anwar could not haul them back into the game.

The victory was never really in doubt for Pakistan, and while UAE batted out all 50 overs, they fell well short of their target, per BBC TMS:

From a ragged start to the tournament, Pakistan now currently sit in the much-valued fourth spot in Pool B, ahead of Ireland courtesy of a superior net run rate. However, Ireland have a game in hand, and the two sides are also still set to meet in a key group clash in Adelaide on March 15.

It is set to be a thrilling end to the pool stages in New Zealand, with a number of teams vying for the quarter-final spots.