War-torn Afghanistan is having a dream World Cup. In this tournament, they have lost teams that they might not have expected. Rashid-Mujibra showed power by defeating three world champions Pakistan, England and Sri Lanka. At the same time, they won against the Netherlands with great confidence.
Afghanistan had a good chance to play in the semi-finals. But Hashmatullah Shahidi’s team lost to Australia due to Glenn Maxwell’s superhuman batting. With 8 points, they are still in the semi-finals on paper, but the path to the semis is completely closed for the Afghans.
Still, they face South Africa in their ninth and final match of the league stage today, on a mission to realize their semi-final dream.
Afghanistan must win by at least 438 runs against South Africa today to secure a semi-final ticket. Which is seemingly impossible. Therefore, it can be said that Afghanistan’s dream of playing the semi-finals is not fulfilled this time.
Even if they can’t play in the semi-finals, Afghanistan has already secured a place in the 2025 Champions Trophy. If they beat South Africa in the last match, Rashid Khan-Mohammed Nabira will finish the World Cup at number five or six.
(10 November/NBW/AJ)