England have been left needing to beat Sri Lanka in their final Group 1 fixture to reach the T20 World Cup semi-finals after victories for New Zealand and Australia on Friday.
Ahead of the closing matches, all three teams were locked on five points, with New Zealand and England possessing a far superior net run-rate in comparison to Australia.
Despite New Zealand and Australia being clear favourites to defeat Ireland and Afghanistan respectively, all eyes would be on the size of their triumphs should they materialise.
The day began with New Zealand beating Ireland by 35 runs, the Black Caps prevailing despite Irish seamer Josh Little recording a hat-trick during the penultimate over of New Zealand's innings.
As a result, New Zealand had guaranteed their spot in the last four, putting the onus on Australia to try to register a dominant victory over Afghanistan at the same ground.
A good fight from Afghanistan, but Australia come out on top in Adelaide 💪#AUSvAFG | #T20WorldCup | 📝: https://t.co/gUwgDMe7KR pic.twitter.com/kAdHbXJNLS
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) November 4, 2022
Having posted 168-8 from their 20 overs, Australia were aware that they needed to restrict their opponents to 106 from their 20 overs for net run-rate to become a factor.
Although Afghanistan went from 99-2 to 99-5 in the space of four balls, they had sufficient overs to bat, and they almost pulled off one of the biggest shocks in T20 World Cup history.
A highly-entertaining 48 from 23 from Rashid Khan - his career best - took Afghanistan to just four runs short of Australia's total, bringing a sense of relief for the Baggy Greens.
Australia's narrow victory means that Sri Lanka are now mathematically out of the tournament, but they can finish above England if they win in Sydney on Saturday.
Unlike earlier in the group, the weather in Australia should not be a factor, meaning that a tie which would send Australia through is unlikely.
Darren Plant
