Australia defeated Afghanistan by 4 runs at the Adelaide Oval, keeping Australia in contention for a position in the semifinals. However, they are still dependent on the outcome of the England-Sri Lanka match.

Match Summary:-

Australia made three changes to their lineup: Richardson replaced Mitchell Starc, Cameron Green replaced skipper Aaron Finch, and Steven Smith replaced Tim David. To surpass England's net run rate, Australia needed to dismiss the whole Afghan squad for 106 runs or less. Australia scored 168/8 in 20 overs. Maxwell hit 54 off 32 balls, while Afghanistan's Naveen ul Haq got three wickets. New Zealand has already advanced to the semifinals.

Gulbadin Naib and Ibrahim Zadran gave Afghanistan a great start in chasing the target. After 13 overs, they were 99 for 2, but a string of wicket losses in the following two overs reduced them to 104 for 6. Rashid Khan eventually hit a few boundaries and took the game to the last over, but they fell four runs short of the target.

Openers failed for Australia:-

David Warner got Australia off to a good start, smashing Mujeeb Ur Rahman for three fours. Fazalhaq Farooqi dismissed his opening partner Green for three runs. Warner continued to hit boundaries and also ran quickly between the wickets. Warner tried to play a switch hit, but Naveen ul Haq cleaned him up with a slower delivery.  He also got Steven Smith out on the final ball of the powerplay.

How did Australia reach 168:-

Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell took the attack to the Afghan bowlers. Marsh made 45 runs on 30 balls,  Mujeeb dismissed him in the 11th over. Maxwell and Stoinis added 53 runs for the fifth wicket. Maxwell kept the scoreboard ticking, but wickets continued to tumble at the other end. Australia only scored 16 runs in the last 17 balls.

Afghanistan chase:-

Rahmanullah Gurbaz hammered Hazlewood for 10 runs in the first over, but Hazlewood dismissed his opening partner Ghani for 2 runs. Afghanistan got off to a strong start owing to Gurbaz's stunning hitting and Gulbadin's brilliant innings before getting run out.  But then they lost four wickets in two overs.  They were 98 for 2 at one point, but after two overs, they were 103 for 6.

Rashid Khan hammered Australian bowlers all over the ground at the end. He hit four sixes and scored 48* off 23 balls. Afghanistan needed 11 runs off the last two balls. He got two runs and a boundary off those two balls, but it wasn't enough for Afghanistan, who fell four runs short of the target.