Australia haven’t done their already minimal qualification chances any favour by scoring 168/8 in 20 overs in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2022 Match 38. A decent innings total against Afghanistan in the general run of things might not be enough for Australia in the larger scheme of things.
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Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi (0/14) inviting the hosts in to bat first resulted in them losing three wickets in the powerplay. Although the run-scoring was brisk against the new ball, it didn’t materialize to an extent which Australia would’ve hoped in an ideal manner.
An innings which was bereft of any match-winning partnership, Australia would be disappointed to not even touch the 170-run mark. The fact that the defending champions scored only 25/3 in the last four overs clearly explains a lack of momentum for them at the Adelaide Oval tonight.
All-rounders Glenn Maxwell (54*) and Mitchell Marsh (45) played pivotal roles in powering Australia to a challenging total. Maxwell, who was at the helm when his team failed to hit boundaries in the death overs, hit six fours and two sixes at a strike rate of 168.75.
Playing his first match of the tournament, Afghanistan fast bowler Naveen-ul-Haq was the pick of their bowlers with figures of 4-0-21-3. While new-ball bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi dismissed a couple of Australian batters, spinners Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman picked a wicket apiece on Friday.
Can Australia qualify for T20 World Cup semi-final?
Currently at the third position on Group 1 points table, Australia’s poor NRR (-0.304) would be haunting them the most right now. Possible only because of an 89-run loss in their tournament opener against New Zealand, Australia need to restrict Afghanistan to 106 or below to achieve a better NRR than England (0.547).
ALSO READ: How is NRR calculated in cricket?
Assuming that the same happens, Australia will have a better NRR than England but that could change even with an English victory against Sri Lanka in Sydney tomorrow. However, Australia will qualify through to the semi-finals if and only if Sri Lanka defeat England on Saturday.
In such a scenario, New Zealand and Australia will qualify from this group with seven points each. Sri Lanka and England, meanwhile, will finish at third and fourth positions with six and five points respectively. That being said, as repetitive as it sounds, an English victory with even the barest of margins will propel them to finish behind New Zealand with seven points (and a better NRR than Australia) to their name.
UPDATE: Australia beat Afghanistan by 4 runs. If England win tomorrow, they will qualify along with New Zealand. If Sri Lanka (knocked out of the tournament) win tomorrow, Australia will qualify ahead of England.
UPDATE 2: Australia have been knocked out of ICC T20 World Cup 2022.
