Australia confirmed their place in the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy, while Afghanistan are on the brink of an exit after their final group game was washed out. (Highlights | Full Coverage | More Cricket News)
𓆏Afghanistan had made a strong start, posting 273 from their innings as they were led by Sediqullah Atal's 85, but rain stopped play in Australia's 13th over.
ꦅSpencer Johnson made a slightly rusty start in his first four balls, but he made no mistake on the fifth, dismissing Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a duck.
ꦛAtal looked confident despite missing in the early exchanges, and he helped steady the ship with his knock, which included six fours and three sixes. Afghanistan slipped slightly, as Ibrahim Zadran was caught on 22 before Rahmat Shah (12) was dropped to make it 91-3 in the 18th over.
꧋After Atal's exit, Azmatullah Omarzai boosted Afghanistan's hopes of reaching the semi-final with 67, but with four of the last five batters failing to make it out of single figures thanks to Ben Dwarshuis (3-47), Australia were set a target of 274.
ཧMatt Short got some luck at the start of Australia's innings, as Nangialai Kharote dropped him at 19, though two balls later, Gulbadin Naib held on to end his stand at 20.
𓃲Travis Head (59 not out) raced to a quick half-century, with Steve Smith adding 19no to get Australia to 109-1 in their chase before the weather halted proceedings.
ꦯAustralia are through to the final four with four points (won one, two washouts), but their final position in Group B will be affected by South Africa's result on Saturday, as they face already-eliminated England.
⛄Afghanistan have three points, and if South Africa lose, it will bring NRR into the equation, though Afghanistan’s NRR of -0.99 will surely eliminate them.
Data Debrief: Downpour disappoints Afghanistan
꧅It was a high-stakes game for both sides, though Afghanistan knew anything less than a win could spell an early exit from the tournament.
♛Atal led the early charge, but it was a landmark day for Omarzai as well as he became the joint-third-fastest Afghan player to the 1000-run mark in ODIs (31 overs), after Zadran (24), Gurbaz (27) and Rahmat (31).
