Afghanistan’s remarkable journey in the 2023 World Cup has continued to gain momentum as they secured their third victory of the tournament, displaying a stunning performance with a seven-wicket triumph over the 1996 champions, Sri Lanka.
This exceptional feat unfolded at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune on Monday, October 30.
This latest triumph marks Afghanistan’s third win in the tournament, having previously conquered two former champions, England and Pakistan, in matches held in Delhi and Chennai, respectively.
With this victory, Afghanistan’s tally of points has now reached six, propelling them to the fifth position in the tournament standings, and igniting aspirations of achieving the improbable – reaching the semi-finals.
At the moment, Afghanistan finds itself only two points adrift of the third and fourth-placed teams on the table, New Zealand and Australia. Given that all teams still have three matches remaining, Hasmatullah Shahidi’s squad harbors a genuine opportunity to advance to the knockout stage.
Afghanistan’s maximum point potential stands at 12, and if they can attain this, they will secure a coveted spot in the semi-finals, which would necessitate them defeating Australia. Alongside Australia, Afghanistan’s three upcoming matches involve encounters with the Netherlands and South Africa, the latter currently occupying the second spot on the table.
Should Afghanistan prevail in all three of these matches and enhance their net run rate (NRR) compared to Australia, they can qualify even if Australia emerges victorious in their other two fixtures. However, if Afghanistan falters in just one of their remaining games, they will need to rely on either Australia or New Zealand losing at least two of their matches or experiencing a significant fluctuation in NRR.
Another scenario for Afghanistan’s advancement is securing two wins out of the three remaining games, particularly a victory over South Africa. In this case, they will need South Africa to stumble against both New Zealand and India.
