Australia sailed into the Champions Trophy semi-finals after their final Group B match against Afghanistan was abandoned at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday.

Chasing 274 for victory against the plucky Afghans, Australia raced to 109-1 in the 13th over when heavy rain stopped play.

While the pitch was kept under cover, the outfield appeared soaked, prompting the match officials to call off play.

Australia advanced to the knockout stage with four points that include two abandoned matches.

“It’s a good result. That’s what we were after at the start of the tournament,” Australia captain Steve Smith said. “To finish in the top two and heading to the semis, satisfying so far.”

“I think the guys did a really good job to restrict them to 273 and I thought we were in a pretty good position when the game got called off.”

Australia, who arrived without their frontline quicks including regular captain Pat Cummins, will particularly take heart from Head’s return to form ahead of the tournament’s business end.

South Africa, who have three points and face an already-eliminated England on Saturday, look primed to join them in the semi-finals.

MATHEMATICALLY ALIVE

Afghanistan, who have three points but a poor net run rate, are only mathematically alive in the race although they beat England in their impressive Champions Trophy debut.

“About the tournament, you never know,” Afghanistan captain Hasmatullah Shahidi said. “We still have hopes. We are waiting for the next game, hopefully England win big.”

India and New Zealand have made the last four from Group A.

Earlier, Afghanistan’s Sediqullah Atal struck 85 against Australia but it was Azmatullah Omarzai’s enterprising 67 down the order that powered them to 273 all out in exactly 50 overs.

Australia began briskly in their chase, aided by Afghanistan’s poor catching.

Rashid Khan dropped Travis Head, who was on six, and in the next over Matthew Short (20) was spilled in the deep.

Short could not make the most of the reprieve and fell to Omarzai in the next over but dropping Head, who was batting on 59 when rain stopped play, proved costly for Afghanistan.

The left-hander raced to a 34-ball fifty and took Australia past the 100-mark in the 12th over before rain stopped play.

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(With inputs from Reuters)

Afghanistan cricket team has chalked out plans for the entire Australian side and is not just focused on Glenn Maxwell, captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said ahead of their must-win Champions Trophy match scheduled to be held on Friday.

Having knocked England out of the tournament with a stunning eight-run win in Lahore on Wednesday, Afghanistan are now seeking to get the better of Australia at the same venue on Friday and book a semifinal berth.

“You think we will come only to play with Maxwell? Do you think it will be like that? We have planned for entire Australian team, and I know that he (Maxwell) played really well in the 2023 World Cup, but that’s part of the history,” Shahidi said at the pre-match press conference on Thursday.

Chasing 292, Australia were staring at a certain defeat after losing seven wickets with less than 100 on the board, but then, Maxwell played one of the greatest knocks in history of one-day cricket to steer his side into an unbelievable win, and days later, the Aussies won a record-extending sixth World Cup.

However, the Afghans exacted revenge for that painful defeat with victory against Australia in the T20 World Cup a year later after Maxwell again threatened to take the game away from them.

“After that, we beat them in T20 World Cup, and we think about all opposition team. We are not coming to the ground to plan on individual players. We will try our best to come with the planning, and we are not playing only Maxwell – we are playing Australia,” Shahidi said.

Wednesday’s win was their second in ODIs against England after their stunning victory in the 2023 World Cup in India.

The victory against England sparked wild celebrations in the Afghan capital of Kabul where fireworks were lit and streets were filled with jubilant fans.

Should Afghanistan get past Australia, it will pave the way for their second successive entry into the semifinals of an ICC event in less than a year, following their inspiring run in the T20 World Cup in the Americas in 2024.

Shahidi, however, is not reading much into the prospects of semifinal appearance.

“I think it will be a good game for cricket, and our focus will be to keep things simple and don’t worry much about playing semifinal. We will try to do our basics well, and we will try to come to the ground with good planning,” Shahidi said.

“Afghan people always cheer for us, as you saw (against England) in the ground. There were a lot of our Afghan people. So, their support is always with us, and wherever we go, they support us. They are coming to the stadiums.

“And whenever we play games like this, all Afghanistan, back home watching from TV. When we wake up, we will analyse the opposition team and we will come with good planning.”

Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott said no side would “ever again” take Afghanistan lightly after they knocked England out of the Champions Trophy on Wednesday.

Ibrahim Zadran’s heroic 177 helped Afghanistan post 325 against England in Lahore, before bowlers held their nerve to seal an eight-run victory.

The win comes in a series of Afghanistan’s victories against established cricketing nations at major ICC events. In 2024, they defeated New Zealand and Australia en route to the T20 World Cup semi-finals, and eased past England and Pakistan at the 2023 World Cup.

Trott felt that collective body of work has permanently altered perceptions of Afghanistan’s cricket side. “What happened in the World Cup, T20 World Cup, and [now], I say this to the players: Afghanistan’s never going to be taken lightly ever again.

“In the past, perhaps people would have seen the fixture and thought it was a little bit easier than playing a historic Test nation. But in this format, in these conditions, I don’t see that. I see every game that we play is going to be competitive and every game we go into I expect to win. Australia aren’t going to take us lightly.”

That Trott’s focus has shifted immediately to Afghanistan’s final group game on Friday demonstrates his side is focused on the tournament as a whole and not just the odd upset win. The clash against England was an eliminator for both sides but crucially, not a qualifier.

“Since I’ve been coach we’ve played against Australia three times and we’ve been in the game each of those games,” Trott said. “I’ll tell the players to enjoy tonight. I’m going to make sure when they wake up tomorrow, they’re ready for Australia immediately. The focus is on Australia. That’s how the players are going to be and that’s what I’ll tell the fans.”

On Ibrahim Zaran who scored 177 off 146 balls, the highest score in the tournament’s history, Trott said that it was a “memorable knock for him and one that he ‘ll remember for a long time.

“This innings showed the quality of Ibrahim as a player,” Trott said. “I think he played some fantastic cricket shots, certainly the straight six off Jofra Archer comes to mind, and some various other shots. I’m really pleased for him. He’s been out for a little bit of time and he’s looked a little bit out of rhythm. But hopefully he’s found it now. He’s certainly found it, but hopefully he can continue this form, which is a memorable knock for him and one that he’ll remember for a long time but hopefully he can repeat it again on Friday.

“When I took over, there was a rawness to the side. A lot of it is to do with preparation and how they think about themselves and the work they do off the field, with which you give yourself the best chance on the field. The guys play a lot of cricket, they play a lot of franchise cricket, which is good because they’re developing and playing with the world’s best players and seeing how they perform. They bring that experience back to the Afghanistan side and throw it in the melting pot and we get nights like this.”