England were knocked out of the ICC Champions Trophy after their 8-run loss to Afghanistan in Lahore on Wednesday. Hosts Pakistan, Bangladesh and England are the three teams who are out of the tournament as of now.
Chasing 326 to win, England fell just 8 runs short as Joe Root's century went in vain and it was heartbreak for England. It was their second loss on the trot against Afghanistan in ICC tournaments. They previously lost to the same side in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 in Delhi.
Afghanistan's win over England has now opened up all sorts of possibilities in Group B with Australia South Africa and Afghanistan all in with a shout to make the semi-finals. The Afghans finished sixth in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023. They then made the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2024. In this article, we will have a look at the qualification scenarios of all three teams leading into the Champions Trophy 2025 semi-finals.
Qualification Scenarios Of Afghanistan, Australia & South Africa
Afghanistan - Afghanistan's qualification scenario is rather simple as compared to South Africa or Australia. As of now, the Afghans are placed third on the points table with two points from two matches. They lost to South Africa and then won a historic game against England to knock them out of the tournament. A win over Australia would take them to four points and help them qualify for the semi-finals regardless of the other results. On the other hand, a loss would end their campaign then and there. Afghanistan takes on Australia on February 28 in Lahore.
Australia - Australia thumped England by five wickets in their campaign opener in Lahore. Their match against South Africa was rained-out in Rawalpindi on February 25. Australia are on three points as they shared a point each with South Africa after the rained-out game. If the Aussies win, they will qualify outright for the semifinals. However, if they lose to Afghanistan, they would require England to beat South Africa in their final league game. But even that would not make their qualification secure as they will be tied on three points with the Proteas. In that case, the net run- rate would decide who goes through and who doesn't.
South Africa - The Proteas are on three points as well like Australia and their final game is against England. A win for South Africa would help them qualify for the semi-final without depending on any other results. However, if they lose, they will need the Aussies to beat the Afghans. If Afghanistan beats Australia, South Africa will then have to depend on a superior net run-rate (NRR) to edge past Australia.
Afghanistan's massive win over England have proved that they have been the giant killers in ICC tournaments since 2023. Though South Africa and Australia are far superior and stronger teams, Afghanistan have a chance to make history in their very first Champions Trophy campaign.
