Adelaide: Australia must defend 168 points against Afghanistan to stay in the semifinals of the Twenty20 World Cup. After losing the draw and batting in the crucial match, the Aussies managed to score just 168 points for the loss of eight wickets in 20 overs.
The Australians, who currently have only five points from four Super 12 Group One games, must win by a good margin to maintain their semi-final chances. Australians are out if they lose today.
Glenn Maxwell is the top scorer of the Australians with half a century. Maxwell remained unbeaten at 54 out of 32 with two sixes and six fours. Besides Maxwell, David Warner (25 out of 18 balls), Mitchell Marsh (45 out of 30 balls) and Marcus Stoinis (25 out of 21 balls) were the only Australians to perform better.
Cameron Green (3), Steve Smith (4) and Matthew Wade (6) all faltered in front of the Afghan bowling alley. Pat Cummins (0) and Kane Richardson (1) were the other players sent off.
Naveen Ul Haq who took three wickets and Fazalhaq Farooqui who took two wickets broke the Australian batting line.
Matthew Wade replaced injured captain Aaron Finch in the last game and led the team against Afghanistan. Tim David and Mitchell Starc did not take the field. They were replaced by Steve Smith, Cameron Green and Kane Richardson.
