How can Afghanistan qualify for the Champions Trophy 2025 semi-finals after Australia washout? Onus on England

Rain played spoilsport on Friday as Afghanistan and Australia saw their Champions Trophy 2025 Group B fixture get called off in the second innings without a result. It meant that Australia qualified for the semi-finals, and now Afghanistan are almost out and stare at the exit door.

They will be seeking a miracle to reach the semi-finals, and need England to beat South Africa by 207 runs if they bat first. If England bat second, they need to chase down the target within 11.1 overs (assuming a first innings total of 300 in both chases).

Already eliminated, England face South Africa in their final Group B fixture on Saturday, in Karachi. On Friday, Sediqullah Atal smacked 85 runs off 95 balls to take Afghanistan to 273 in 50 overs in the first innings. Meanwhile, Azmatullah Omarzai got a half-century too, slamming 67 off 63 balls. For the Aussies, Ben Dwarshuis struck thrice, Adam Zampa and Spencer Johnson took two-wicket hauls respectively. Chasing 274, Australia reached 109/1 in 12.5 overs before the match was halted.

AFG skipper disappointed

Speaking after the match, Afghan skipper Shahidi said, “Unfortunate that the game went without a result. Was a good game. I think we should have scored 300+ but they bowled well in the middle overs. 270 was a good score but we didn’t start well with the ball. Gave them too much width and gave them many hitting options. We’ll learn from this.”

“(On Atal) He played really well today, first two games he didn’t play the way we expect but his comeback was good. First ICC event for him, he played well under pressure. Omarzai is top class, that’s why he got ODI Player of the year, he always performs for us. He plays a good role, he took a fifer against England and today also he played with a positive intent under pressure. I think today was a bad day for me as a batter. I will speak with the coach later on where I went wrong, it was a slow innings strike rate wise. Will learn from this. About the tournament, you never know. We still have hopes, hopefully England win big,” he added.