Last Updated:
Afghanistan and England now stand a chance of sneaking their way into the knockouts. (Image: AP)
With the game between Australia and South Africa being washed out due to incessant rain, the two sides sharing points has turned out to be a big positive for England and Afghanistan who now stand a chance in making it to the knockout stages of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Let us take a look at the scenarios for all the teams in Group B in order to qualify for the knockout stages:
The two-time winners of this competition remain in front when it comes to qualifying for the knockout stages. For the side led by Steve Smith, they just have to secure a win to make it to the semi-final stages. They play Afghanistan in their final group-stage game and those who remember the same fixture in the 2023 ODI World Cup, this game could prove to be a cracking fixture once again.
The Temba Bavuma-led side holds the top spot in Group B after their dominant win over Afghanistan followed by a point against Australia. The side like Australia will look to get a win over England to ensure their spot in the knockout stages of the tournament. Even if they manage to lose, things might go in their favour with their net run-rate being the highest amongst the four teams.
Having lost to Australia, Jos Buttler and co will need to win their remaining two games against Afghanistan and South Africa respectively to stand a chance at making it to the knockout stages. Despite putting in a strong batting performance led by Ben Duckett, they ended up on the losing side against the Aussies. Now they will have to beat both Afghanistan and South Africa to go through.
The Afghanistan side came into the tournament with expectations of being amongst the sides that could once again cause an upset and sneak their way through. But this time around, they have not shown that resilience so far as they suffered a crushing defeat against South Africa to begin their campaign. Now the side led by Hashmatullah Shahidi will need to go on and beat both England and Australia to get themselves in the semi-final.
