Australia will reach the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy after a washout with Afghanistan, left to await South Africa’s results.
Australia reached the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy after the final group game against Afghanistan was abandoned due to rain and wet outfield.
World Cup Holders Australia, which achieved a record 352 pursuit against England in the opening game, finished the group stage with four points after the final two games were washed away at Rawalpindi and Lahore.
There are three points in Afghanistan, and it is on the brink of exit. To move forward, they will need to lose South Africa with an unlikely margin of over 200 runs against England, which was already eliminated in Group B game on Saturday.
Afghanistan was bowled off at 273 on the final ball of the innings on Friday, and Australia cruised 109-1 with 12.5 overs. I was so tired I couldn’t continue in the outfield.
Travis Head’s half-century of 34 balls had a slow start to Australia against some scratchy Afghan fielding and poor fast bowling. Rashid Khan was unable to hold the regulated catch when his head was 6 o’clock. On the batting power play, I loosened the headcut and drove Australia to 90-1.
Alternate Nangeyalia Karoto dropped Matthew shortly from Azumathura Omarzai, but was later fired two balls when Galbadin Naive made a smart catch on the shoulder in the middle as he ran backwards.
Fast bowling all-round Omarzai, who grabbed the maiden’s five-wicket haul in an astonishing eight-run victory in England at the same venue in Afghanistan, was hit 43 times in five overs and Fazar Hak Falokki also mistaken many with his length, running 32 times in 32 overs.
Left-handed batsman Sedikula Atal (85) missed a century, but Omarzai finished with a 67-ball 63, including five six-67.
Spencer Johnson (2-49) and Ben Dwarschus (3-47) struggled to control the swing with the new ball, but both had high-speed bowlers coming back strong with the old ball.
Opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz fell early three times in a row when Johnson yokered the yoker without getting the fifth legal ball.
Ibrahim Zadran, who scored the tournament’s highest score of 177 at the same venue on Wednesday, was encouraged when he turned 22 and was caught at the first point of Adam Zampa’s points (2-48).
Captain Steve Smith squeezed Afghanistan with the central over with Matthew Short (0-21) acknowledged only six in his tidy Seven Overs, and Glenn Maxwell bowled the maiden while finding Ramat Shah’s bat edge.
Atal tried to accelerate after Captain Hashmathura Shahidi struggled to continue the scoreboard movement, but Atal was caught by Smith on short covers in Johnson’s return spell.
Mohammad Navi and Gurubadin Naive were cheaper, and Afghanistan skated 199-7. Omarzai cultivated the strike and completed a half century from 54 balls, raising the morale of Afghanistan.
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