New Zealand top the points list with seven points from five games.© AFP
Australia kept their hopes of reaching the T20 World Cup semi-finals alive after beating Afghanistan in their final group stage match at the Adelaide Oval on Friday. Glenn Maxwell’s unbeaten 32-ball 54 lifted Australia to 168/8 in the face of a roaring Afghan bowling attack. Despite Rashid Khan’s unbeaten 48 on 23 balls, Afghanistan was left four runs behind. Australia’s chances of reaching the semi-finals are not in their hands, however, as England have a better net run rate and face Sri Lanka in Adelaide on Saturday.
Australia was supposed to score 180+ plus against Afghanistan, but couldn’t.
The Blackcaps became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals, having beaten Ireland by a large margin earlier on Friday.
As things stand, New Zealand top the points list with seven points from five games.
Australia is in second place with the same number of points after their victory over Afghanistan. However, they have a negative net run rate.
England are third with five points and a game in hand.
Sri Lanka is out of the semi-finals, but could spoil the party for England. They have won four points from four games so far.
promoted
Afghanistan also left the tournament without a win and two excesses.
Here’s what the updated Group 1 Points table looks like:
After their defeat to Australia, Mohammad Nabi announced that he has decided to step down as captain of Afghanistan.
Topics mentioned in this article