Champions Trophy 2025 Qualification scenarios: How can Afghanistan qualify for the semifinals after the no result against Australia?

The Group B match of the 2025 Champions Trophy between Afghanistan and Australia at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Friday, February 28 produced no result due to rain. Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat first in the crucial contest. They put up 273 on the board in their 50 overs as Sediqullah Atal top-scored with 85 off 95, while Azmatullah Omarzai contributed 67 off 63.

For Australia, Ben Dwarshuis claimed 3-47 in nine overs, while Spencer Johnson and Adam Zampa picked up two wickets each. In the chase, the Aussies were cruising at 109-1 after 12.5 overs when the rain came down. Travis Head was batting on 59 off 40, while skipper Steven Smith was unbeaten on 19 off 22. Since 20 overs could not be bowled in Australia's innings, there was no result.

With the match being called off, Australia confirmed their place in the semifinals of the 2025 Champions Trophy, joining India and New Zealand from Group A. The no result dealt a massive setback to Afghanistan's chances of qualifying for the semifinals. They only have a slim mathematical possibility of qualifying, depending on the result of the South Africa vs England match on Saturday, March 1.

As per Cricbuzz, for Afghanistan to qualify for the semifinals of the 2025 Champions Trophy, England will have to hammer South Africa by at least 207 runs if they bat first. If England bat second, they will have to chase down the target inside 11.1 overs (Both scenarios assuming a first innings total of 300).

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"We still have hopes, hopefully England win big" - Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi

Speaking after the match against Australia, Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi asserted that they have still not given up and are hoping for a big win for England on Saturday against South Africa. Sharing his thoughts after the no result against the Aussies, he commented:

"About the tournament, you never know. We still have hopes, hopefully England win big."

On the team's performance in the match against Australia, Shahidi opined that his side should have scored 300-plus, but credited the opposition bowlers for their impressive showing. He said:

"Unfortunate that the game went without a result. Was a good game. I think we should have scored 300+ but they bowled well in the middle overs. 270 was a good score but we didn't start well with the ball. Gave them too much width and gave them many hitting options. We'll learn from this."

Afghanistan began their 2025 Champions Trophy campaign with a 107-run loss to South Africa in Karachi. They recovered well to beat England by eight runs in Lahore in a high-scoring thriller.