It's a three-way battle for the top two spots in Group B of the Champions Trophy, with South Africa (first), Australia (Second) and Afghanistan (Third) all in contention
Afghanistan scripted a stunning eight-run win over England to knock them out of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy on Wednesday. With England eliminated, it’s a three-way battle for the top two spots in Group B of the Champions Trophy, with South Africa (first), Australia (Second) and Afghanistan (Third) all in contention. Australia will take on Afghanistan in their final group game on Friday, whereas South Africa face England in Saturday’s game.
Australia will qualify for the semi-finals if they beat Afghanistan on Friday. However, should they lose to the Afghans, they will need England to beat South Africa by a huge margin in their final match and make sure that the Proteas’ Net Run Rate goes down. For Afghanistan, the equation is simple— A win against Australia means they will be through with four points, whereas a loss to the two-time champions will draw curtains on their inaugural Champions Trophy campaign.
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A loss for Afghanistan against Australia will also mean that Australia and South Africa advance to the semi-finals. The most straightforward way as to how Australia and South Africa can qualify is if they win their respective last group stage matches.
The Proteas can still qualify for the semi-finals even if they lose to England. This is, and only if, Australia lose to Afghanistan and South Africa have a better NRR compared to Australia. This will mean that South Africa and Afghanistan qualify for the semi-finals. In a situation where South Africa lose to England heavily and Australia only suffers a narrow loss to Afghanistan, the Aussies can still qualify if they have a better NRR than South Africa.
It’s important to note that if Australia and South Africa lose their games, both of them will remain at three points. Afghanistan will top the group with four points in that situation, with Australia and South Africa battling for the second spot via NRR.
From Group A, India and New Zealand have qualified for the Champions Trophy semi-finals, wit hosts Pakistan and Bangladesh having been knocked out. New Zealand lead the standings with four points from two matches with India in second place with the same number of points as only the NRR separates the two sides. India and New Zealand will lock horns in their final group stage game to determine the final standings in Group A, but even that won’t matter. Why? Because India will play the first semi-final in Dubai on March 4 and will qualify as A1 side even if they finish second. This means they will get to face the team that finishes second in Group B.
Currently, that team is Australia, but that can change over the course of the next couple of days de[ending on the results. Should South Africa and Australia win their last group matches, then the Proteas are likely to top the group due to their superior NRR and Australia finish second. This means India will take on Australia in the semi-finals.
As stated earlier, Afghanistan will top the group if they beat Australia and England beat South Africa. In this case, India will take on either Australia or South Africa, depending on which team qualifies. India will face Afghanistan if the Afghans stun Australia and South Africa beat England. South Africa will top the group with five points that way with Afghanistan in second place with four points. The Proteas will then face the Kiwis in the other semi-final.
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