Follow UsAustralia's bad luck with the weather continues as their match against Afghanistan in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 has been called off. However, the good news for them is that they have qualified for the semi-final of the tournament. This is the first time Australia have managed to qualify for the semi-final of the tournament in 2009 in South Africa when they went on to win it.
They go top of Group B temporarily but will slip to second if South Africa beat England in Karachi on March 1 (Saturday).
This is the fifth washed-out game Australia have been involved in the Champions Trophy since 2013. Their previous game against South Africa in Rawalpindi, too, suffered the same result.
It remains unclear if Australia would face India or New Zealand in the semis. If they are to come up against India, they will have to fly to Dubai, but if it is New Zealand, they will play in Lahore.
As far as Afghanistan are concerned, their chances of making it through to the semi-final is hanging by a thread. They will need England to beat South Africa by a massive margin tomorrow to have a chance. However, it does not look good for the Asian side, given that their net run-rate is -0.990, while South Africa currently stand at +2.140, courtesy of their 107-run victory against England.
In their game against Afghanistan, Australia were cruising on their way to their 274-run target. They got to 109/1 inside 13 overs before rain stopped play.