Champions Trophy: Australia were after a top-two finish and semis qualification, says Smith
Lahore, Feb 28 (IANS) Before coming into the 2025 Champions Trophy, Australia were dealt with a humungous blow by the non-availability of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Josh Hazlewood. But cut to now, and Australia have managed to enter the semifinals, with an assured top-two finish in Group B. After rain forced their game against Afghanistan to be washed out at the Gaddafi Stadium, Australia skipper Steve Smith said their two primary targets were achieved with the advancement to the semifinals.
“That’s what we were after in the start, to finish in the top two and qualify for the semis. I thought the guys did a good job, made good changes, and took wickets in the middle. Did well to restrict them to 270, and we were in a good position.”
“He (Matt Short) was struggling a bit, and a few days might be too short to recover. He (Travis Head) batted nicely, got lucky, and then middled them well. Hope he can do it again in the semi-final. Guys have done a good job; they are excited, so I hope we can keep going in this tournament,” said Smith to broadcasters.
With the ball, Australia conceded 37 extras but managed to bowl out Afghanistan for 273. There were a few (extras) today, and Spencer (Johnson) was getting it to swing too much. Josh Inglis was happy when that spell ended. The guys though did a good job and beat the bat on a few occasions. It was a good performance; shame the game was washed out,” added Smith.
The abandonment in Lahore also meant that Afghanistan are on the brink of elimination from the competition after reaching three points. Afghanistan, though, will need a mathematical favour from England, who need to win by a margin of over 207 runs and cause South Africa’s net run rate to slip below theirs to enter the semi-finals. “Unfortunate that the game went without a result. Was a good game. I think we should have scored 300+, but they bowled well in the middle overs. 270 was a good score, but we didn’t start well with the ball.”
“Gave them too much width and gave them many hitting options. We’ll learn from this. About the tournament, you never know. We still have hopes; hopefully, England win big,” said Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi.
Sediqullah Atal overcame an early examination from Johnson and Ben Dwarshuis to hit 85 off 95 deliveries, while Azmatullah Omarzai, ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year award winner for 2024, shined with 67 off 63 balls to help Afghanistan post a competitive total on a used pitch.
“He (Atal) played really well today. In the first two games, he didn’t play the way we expected, but his comeback was good. It was the first ICC event for him, and he played well under pressure. Omarzai is top-class; that’s why he got ODI Player of the Year. He always performs for us. He (Omarzai) plays a good role, he took a fifer against England and today also he played with a positive intent under pressure.”
Shahidi struggled to get going, making a scratchy 20 off 49 balls at a strike-rate of 40.81. “I think today was a bad day for me as a batter. I will speak with the coach later on about where I went wrong, it was a slow innings, strike rate-wise. Will learn from this,” he concluded.
–IANS
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