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Afghanistan will face South Africa in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Group B match on Friday, February 28. The match between the two teams is scheduled to take place at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Afghanistan will face Australia in Champions Trophy 2025 match on Friday in Lahore. (Picture Credit: X/@ACBofficials and AFP)
Afghanistan will face Australia in the last Group B match of the Champions Trophy 2025 on Friday, February 28. The match, which is scheduled to take place at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, will be a do-or-die game for the Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side. If Afghanistan manage to beat Steve Smith & Co., then they will qualify for the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy 2025, but if they lose, then their campaign will come to an end.
Afghanistan have 2 points from two matches played so far, whereas Australia and South Africa have three points each from two matches played so far in Group B. A win over Australia will take Afghanistan’s tally to four points from three matches in Group B, and Australia will end the group stage campaign with three points only. In such a scenario, Afghanistan will finish ahead of Australia in the points table and also guarantee themselves a place in the top two.
But if Afghanistan lose then they will end up with only two points, and since Australia and South Africa already have three points, Afghanistan won’t be able to finish in the top two of the Group B points table and thus get knocked out of the competition.
If the match ends in a draw, then Australia will qualify for the semifinal with four points from three matches, and Afghanistan’s fate will depend on the result of the South Africa-England match.
If England beat South Africa by a very big margin in the last Group B match at National Stadium in Karachi on Saturday (March 1), then despite finishing with the same number of points (3 each), Afghanistan will be able to pip South Africa and finish second in the Group B points table and qualify for the semi-finals.
For Australia, the qualification is quite simple as of now compared to Afghanistan. A win over Afghanistan or the washout (no result) on Friday will be enough for them to book a place in the semi-finals, and if they lose, then England’s big win over South Africa in Karachi on Saturday will also take them to the semi-finals.
Australia, which is the joint-most successful team in Champions Trophy history with two titles, would, however, like to seal the deal on Friday itself.
- Location :
Lahore, Pakistan
