Key Points
Australia needs win against Afghanistan to guarantee semifinal qualification
Rain-affected match against South Africa left teams sharing one point each
South Africa leads Group B with three points and superior net run rate
Afghanistan previously challenged Australia during 2023 ODI World Cup
Australia defeated England by five wickets in their opening encounter in a historic chase of 352 in Lahore to gain two points. However, the washout barred them from gaining two points from the fixture as both teams shared a point each in Rawalpindi on Tuesday.
With South Africa claiming the top spot in Group B with three points at a NRR of +2.140, second-placed Australia (+0.475) have the task of toppling Afghanistan to keep them alive, unless England lose one of their two remaining games, in the eight-team spectacle.
“I did look on the weather (app) a couple of days ago and saw a few days of rain, but I didn’t expect it to be washed out. Not ideal, but can’t do much about it," Smith said during the post-match presentation.
“The equation’s pretty simple now. Onto the next one against Afghanistan. If we win, we’re locked in the top four. They’re a dangerous side on their day, like every team in this tournament. I think that’s the beauty of this tournament. With the eight best teams coming up against it, anyone can have a good day," he added.
In their last ODI match during the 2023 ODI World Cup at Wankhede Stadium, Afghanistan came close to handing Australia a shock defeat before Glenn Maxwell unleashed his beast mode and struck a memorable double-hundred to snatch victory for them.
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma expressed his frustration with the result and said he would have loved to play their first-ever match against Australia in the Champions Trophy.
“It is frustrating. We would have loved to get in a game of cricket. You would have had two teams coming into the game high on confidence. You don’t really have to say much from a motivation point of view. You mention Australia, that gets the guys chomping (at the bit)," he said.
Australia will next take on Afghanistan in their final Group B match on February 28 while South Africa will play England in their last game on March 1.
