The 10th match of the ICC Champions Trophy was affected by rain, resulting in Australia and Afghanistan receiving one point each.
This was the second rain-affected match in Group B; earlier, on February 25, Australia and South Africa had also shared points due to rain.
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With this result, Australia has secured a place in the semi-finals from Group B. Afghanistan has three points after playing three matches, while South Africa has three points from two matches.
For Afghanistan to progress further in the tournament, they will have to rely on South Africa losing their upcoming matches.
Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bat first, getting all out for 273 runs in the allotted 50 overs.
Before rain interrupted the Afghanistan vs Australia match, Australia had scored 109 runs for the loss of one wicket in 12.5 overs while chasing a target of 274.
The only dismissed Australian batter was Matthew Short, who scored 20 runs before being dismissed by Azmatullah Omarzai.
Travis Head and captain Steve Smith built a 65-run partnership for the second wicket, remaining unbeaten with scores of 59 and 19 runs, respectively.
Azmatullah Omarzai delivered an all-round performance for Afghanistan, scoring 67 runs and taking a wicket.
For Afghanistan, Sediqullah scored 85, Ibrahim Zadran (the century-maker from the last match) made 22, Hashmatullah Shahidi 20, Rashid Khan 19, and Rahmat Shah 12. No other player reached double digits.
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From Australia’s bowling side, Ben Dwarshuis took three wickets, while Spencer Johnson and Adam Zampa claimed two each. Glenn Maxwell and Nathan Ellis picked up one wicket each.
Earlier, at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium, Afghanistan’s captain Hashmatullah Shahidi stated at the toss that no changes were made to the team for this match.
He expressed hopes of putting up a big total and said that spinners would play a key role. He also mentioned discussing and addressing past mistakes.
Australian captain Steve Smith, on the other hand, stated that he expected a good contest and confirmed that Australia had also made no changes to their team.
