Hyderabad: India and New Zealand have already advanced to the final four stages from Group A with two wins in as many games, with hosts Pakistan and Bangladesh being eliminated. But, following Australia and South Africa sharing one point each after the match resulted in no result, the race for the spot in the semi-final has intensified. All four teams have a chance to progress to the knockout stage, but only two sides can qualify for the Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final.
Playing their first-ever Champions Trophy, Afghanistan side were considered as the hot favourites to qualify for the semi-final. They were thrashed by the formidable South Africa in their campaign opener by a huge margin of 107 runs at Karachi National Stadium and would be aiming to bounce back stronger. The last time when these two teams locked horns, the Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side stunned England by 69 runs, registering one of the biggest upsets of the 2023 ODI World Cup.
On the other hand, England are coming into the tournament on the back whitewash against India and a defeat in the record run chase done by Australia in Champions Trophy history. Their struggle against spinners is no more a secret and Australia have exploited it in their campaign opener, as part-time spinner Marnus Labuschagne bowled three overs in the death overs and ended up picking up three wickets including centurion Ben Duckett, who became the only player to smash 150+ runs in an innings in Champions Trophy history. They were troubled by India's spin attack in the ODI series in the build-up of this tournament. Hence, it is expected to be a battle between, Afghanistan's spin and England's power-packed batting lineup.
The weather forecast for Lahore for the England vs Afghanistan game indicates a clear day as there is no prediction for rain. The temperature will be in the 20s throughout the game. But still, the question arises, what will be the semi-final qualification scenario if match no. 8 between Afghanistan and England gets washed out or results in a draw and which team will progress to the next round?
South Africa and Australia are on top of Group B with three points each, after the no result on Tuesday due to rainfall in Rawalpindi. Both England and Afghanistan have zero points to their tally after defeats in their first games and a defeat here, one of the two teams will be officially eliminated.
For instance, if England end up losing the match, they will remain on 0 points. Even if they emerge triumphant in the next game against South Africa, it won't matter as the Three Lions can manage to reach the maximum of two points while Australia and Proteas already have three points each.