Afghanistan have three points to their name after their match against Australia in Lahore was washed out due to rain. Afghanistan’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions Trophy 2025 semifinal have taken a hit after this result. Here is how they can still reach the semifinals.
In a major jolt to Afghanistan’s semifinal hopes, their last group-stage fixture against Australia was called off due to rain at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, on Friday, February 28. This turned out to be the third washed-out game in the ongoing Champions Trophy, with the other two happening in Rawalpindi.
Australia were up and running in their 274-run chase against Afghanistan. Travis Head and Matthew Short had provided them with a rollicking start before Steve Smith joined the party as well. The Aussies were strongly poised at 109/1 before the weather gods opened up and denied any further action in the game.
The Aussies have now ensured their spot in the semifinals for the first time since 2009. The no result meant that both the teams shared a point each. The two-time champions are now on four points and are on top of Group B. Meanwhile, Afghanistan are in second place in the Group with three points to their name, the same as what South Africa have but with no games in hand.
Meanwhile, the Proteas have a match in their hand. They will face a wounded and out-of-contention England team in their last group-stage fixture on Saturday, March 1. This means that Afghanistan don’t have their fate in their own hands and are dependent on the England vs South Africa result.
Here is how Afghanistan can still qualify for the semifinals
Afghanistan now need a big favour from England to seal a spot in the last four. While both Afghanistan and South Africa are tied on three points each, the former have a much inferior Net run rate of -0.990, while the Proteas have an NRR of +2.140.
This means that England will have to win by a huge margin for the Proteas to suffer a considerable NRR loss for Afghanistan to pip them to take second place. Currently, the Proteas are in second spot.
Going by calculations, England will have to beat South Africa by at least 207 runs if they bat first or will have to chase in 11.1 overs (considering a target of 300 in both situations) for the Proteas to slip below Afghanistan in the points table. If this (highly unlikely) scenario occurs, then Afghanistan will still qualify for the semifinals along with Australia from this group in second place, or else the Proteas will go through despite losing to the Three Lions, too.
