Australia secure CT25 semi-final spot as Afghanistan match abandoned

LAHORE: The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 match between Afghanistan and Australia has been abandoned as the latter were cruising to a 275 target when the rain interrupted the proceedings.

The abandonment of the match means that Australia will advance to the semifinals with four points, while Afghanistan’s hopes of reaching the semifinals of Champions Trophy 2025 are hanging by a thread.

For Afghanistan to qualify, South Africa must lose to England by a significant margin as the Hashmatullah-led side’s Net Run Rate (NRR) of -0.99 further complicates their chances. Even if South Africa loses to England, Afghanistan’s poor NRR might still prevent them from qualifying.

Chasing a challenging target, Australia got off to a flying start as they scored 90-1 in the first powerplay.

Openers Matt Short and Travis Head got off to a flying start, scoring 44 runs within no time Matt Short departed in the fifth over with the score at 44. Travis Head, who was joined by Australian captain Steve Smith, continued to propel Australia’s innings before the rain forced the abandonment.

The duo added 65 runs for the second wicket before the rain interrupted the match with Steve Smith and Travis Head unbeaten at 19 and 59, respectively.

Travis Head smashed nine fours and a six in his 59 off 40 deliveries.

Earlier, Sediqullah Atal and Azmatullah Omarzai scored fifties as Afghanistan set a 274-run target for Australia in their Champions Trophy 2025 game

After electing to bat first, Afghanistan received an early blow as opening batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz was castled by Spencer Johnson on a duck in the very first over.

Sediqullah Atal then joined his opening partner Ibrahim Zadran and the two took Afghanistan to 70 before the latter fell on 22.

Rahmat Shah (12) was the next batter to depart, leaving the side at 91 over the loss of three wickets.

Meanwhile, Sediqullah Atal completed his fifty and shared a 68-run partnership with captain Hashmatullah Shahidi.

Atal was dismissed after scoring 85 runs while Shahidi scored 20 off 49 balls before his dismissal in the 36th over.

Mohammad Nabi was run out after scoring just one run and Gulbadin Naib managed to add four runs to the total in their Champions Trophy 2025 game against Australia.

All-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai was then involved in crucial late-inning partnerships with Rashid Khan (19) and Noor Ahmad (6) to take Afghanistan to 273.

Azmatullah Omarzai departed after a well-made 67 off 63 balls while Noor Ahmed was dismissed on the last ball of the inning as Afghanistan were bowled out for 273 in 50 overs.

For Australia, Ben Dwarshuis took three wickets while Spencer Johnson and Adam Zampa picked up two wickets each. Nathan Ellis and Glenn Maxwell bagged one wicket each.

hampions Trophy 2025 after they chased down the highest-ever score at an ICC event against England.

Read more: Champions Trophy 2025: Labuschagne opens up on Afghanistan challenge

Their second fixture against South Africa was abandoned due to rain and shared points with South Africa.

Afghanistan lost their opening game to South Africa, however, they made a remarkable comeback in the tournament by defeating England to knock them out of contention for a semi-final spot.