A win guarantees a semi-final. Afghanistan took to the field against Australia today with such an equation in mind. Afghanistan, who had defeated England in the previous match, was dreaming of playing in the semi-finals. But it is doubtful whether their dream will come true this time too. Afghanistan was largely eliminated from the Champions Trophy as the match was abandoned due to rain. And Australia secured a semi-final.

Today, in the important match of the Champions Trophy at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, the Afghans won the toss and elected to bat and were all out for 273 runs. In response, Australia, having opted to bat, scored 109 runs for the loss of 1 wicket in 12.5 overs. Then the rain hit and the two teams shared the points.

Of course, Afghanistan could have won this match. However, they had to pay the price for bad fielding. Rashid Khan dropped Travis Head's catch on his personal five runs. And that Head has been the one who has ruled the Afghan bowlers. Head was unbeaten on 59 off 40 balls before the rain. However, the abandonment of the match gave Afghanistan an advantage. After Australia's start, it is very difficult for Afghanistan to win the match from there. Afghanistan is still alive on paper in the semi-final fight by getting one point in this match. Afghanistan will now have to look at the match between South Africa and England.

Earlier, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who won the toss and elected to bat, failed in this match as well. The Afghan opener, who has not found a rhythm with the bat in this edition of the Champions Trophy, returned without scoring any runs today. Then Sadiqullah Atal and Ibrahim Zadran, who had recorded a 67-run partnership in the previous match. Zadran returned to the dressing room after making 22 runs before the disaster was overcome.

Then Rahmat Shah 12 and Hasnamullah Shahidi returned with 12 and 20 runs. Sadiqullah Atal's bat came with 85 runs from 95 balls. When Afghanistan were counting down the time to a low score of 199 runs after losing seven wickets, Azmatullah Omarzai brought the team back from the brink of the abyss. The ICC ODI Player of the Year ruled the Australian bowlers in style towards the end. He played a brilliant innings of 67 runs off 63 balls before returning to the dressing room.

Even if they survive on paper, it is largely impossible for the Afghans to play in the semi-finals. If South Africa wins the match between South Africa and England, they will definitely reach the semi-finals and Afghanistan will be eliminated. And even if South Africa loses that match, they will have to lose by a very big margin. Since South Africa is ahead in net run rate, South Africa will have to lose by at least 207 runs against England.

And if South Africa bats first, then England will have to win against South Africa before 11.1 overs. Only then will Afghanistan be able to play in the semi-finals. Otherwise, South Africa will be Australia's partner in the semi-finals from this group.

Bangladesh lost to India in the semi-finals of the 2017 Champions Trophy. Bangladesh started this season with the same defeat. The Tigers lost their first match against India by 6 wickets. Even Tawhid Hridoy's heroic century and record-breaking partnership with Zaker Ali could not save the day. India started the Champions Trophy with an easy win with Shubman Gill's unbeaten century!

In the second match of this season's Champions Trophy at the Dubai International Stadium, Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat, getting all out for 228 runs in 49.4 overs. Tawhid Hridoy scored a fighting century. In reply, Rohit Sharma's team lost 4 wickets in 46.3 overs. Shubman Gill scored a century in response to Hridoy.

Champion Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill gave India a great start after batting for a small target of 229 runs. Rohit was dismissed for 41 off the last ball of the first power play off Taskin Ahmed. India had 69 runs on the board. After that, Virat Kohli and Gill played with caution. Kohli returned for 22 runs off the ball of Rishad Hossain with the team leading 112 runs.

Shreyas Iyer also did not get a run on the day. He returned for 15 runs off the ball of Mustafizur Rahman. Axar Patel, who shone with the ball, returned with the bat for just 8 runs. India lost four wickets for 144 runs and were under pressure. However, Gill was at the front of one end of the wicket. Bangladesh had a chance to come back in the match. Zaker Ali Anik also missed an easy catch taken by Lokesh Rahul off the ball of Taskin Ahmed. And with that, the Tigers lost their last chance to come back in the match. And India won their first win in the tournament.

Of course, Gill has to be mentioned separately. He scored an extraordinary century, adapting to the Dubai wicket. He reached a magical three-figure score off 125 balls. This is the 8th ODI century of his career. He won the team by 101 runs off 129 balls, not out. At the other end, Lokesh Rahul was unbeaten on 41!

Earlier, Bangladesh faced a batting disaster when they came out to bat in the first innings. After winning the toss, captain Nazmul Hossain Shanto's decision to bat was proved wrong by the Indian bowlers. Soumya Sarkar was out without scoring any runs off the last ball of the first over. The Tigers lost wickets again in the next over. This time Shanto returned to the dressing room for 0 runs off a Harsit Rana. Mehedi Hasan Miraj also failed to live up to expectations today. Miraj became Mohammed Shami's second victim by 5 runs. Opener Tanjid Hasan Tamim could not score big runs despite starting well. He returned to the dressing room with 25 runs off Axar Patel's ball. Experienced Mushfiqur Rahim also returned with the next ball.

Zaker Ali Anik and Towhid Hridoy, who were struggling after losing 5 wickets in the Power play, took control of Bangladesh. The two of them put on a 154-run partnership. Which is the highest partnership for the sixth wicket in the history of the Champions Trophy. Zaker returned with an individual 68 runs in the team's 189 runs. However, Hridoy was at one end of the wicket. He took the first century of his career. In addition, Rishad Hossain scored 18 runs off 12 balls. Hridoy brought up the first century of his career off 114 balls. He also fought with injuries. He played a remarkable innings. His fight stopped at exactly 100 runs.

Shami single-handedly destroyed the Bangladesh batting line-up. There were doubts about Shami's inclusion in the Indian team, but he took 5 wickets alone. This pacer touched the milestone of 200 wickets in ODIs as the second fastest bowler in the world.

Bangladesh started this season with a defeat. Bangladesh's next match is against New Zealand on February 24. Bangladesh has no choice but to win that match to stay in the tournament. The Kiwis got off to a great start by defeating hosts Pakistan in the opening match.

After defeating Bangladesh, India's next opponent is arch-rivals Pakistan. The two teams will face each other on February 23. If they lose that match, Mohammad Rizwan's team will be knocked out of the tournament.

There was a flood of joy in Pakistan! The global cricket tournament returned to their country after many days. The whole country was in a festive mood. But in such an atmosphere, Mohammad Rizwan's team stumbled while playing the first match of the Champions Trophy. New Zealand surprised them by winning a big 60-run victory! The Kiwis made a good start by easily defeating the hosts.

Mitchel Santner's team is now relieved to lose to the hosts in the opening match of the Champions Trophy. After losing the toss and opting to bat, New Zealand scored 320 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in 50 overs with centuries from Will Young and Tom Latham. In reply, Pakistan was all out for 260 runs in 47.2 overs!

Pakistan faced a disaster at the beginning after batting in response to 321 runs at the National Stadium in Karachi on Wednesday. Opener Saud Shakeel returned to the dressing room after opening the team and his own run book. Babar Azam, who was at the other end, tried to pull the team back, but Fakhar Zaman and his men did not accompany him. Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan, who was out for three, left the field after opening the score, and the hosts lost 2 wickets for 22 runs.

Although the injured Fakhar Zaman was fine in the field, he could not shine with the bat. He was out for 24 runs in 41 balls. Salman Agha, who came on the field when Fakhar returned, tried to increase the run gap, but he played a quick innings in 31 overs, but he played an innings of 42 runs in 28 balls before being caught by Bracewell.

As soon as Babar Azam returned, scoring 64 runs in 90 balls, it was almost certain that Pakistan would not be able to win the match. Khushdil Shah, who played in the BPL, took over after that, but it was not saved.

Earlier, the Kiwis scored 320 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in the stipulated 50 overs. Will Young and Devon Conway, who opened the innings, looked promising, but they lost their first wicket in the 7th over. Devon Conway left the field after making 10 runs off 17 balls off the bowling of Pakistani leggie Abrar Ahmed.

Although no one else who came out on the field could hold their ground for long, Young continued to increase the team's runs by understanding well with Tom Latham. The visitors scored 113 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in 25 overs.

Young saw another century in his ODI career at the beginning of the 35th over. However, three overs later, Young, who had scored the fourth century of his career, was dismissed by Naseem Shah. He completed his innings of 107 runs off 113 balls with 12 fours and a 1.

Then Latham continued to increase the team's collection along with Glenn Phillips. However, at the beginning of the last over, Phillips, who had played a 39-ball 61-run innings, was caught by Fakhar Zaman off the bowling of Haris Rauf. Latham remained unbeaten on 118 runs off 104 balls. In the allotted 50 overs, New Zealand scored 320 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf took 2 wickets each for Pakistan.

But the Pakistani cricketers could not have the last laugh till the end. The hosts' mission began with a loss. The Kiwis took the victory at the beginning. 

The curtain will rise again after almost 8 years with the Pakistan-New Zealand match. Pakistan, which won the title by defeating India in 2017, will want to retain the title this time too. Pakistan is unable to organize this edition alone due to India's objection.

This edition of the Champions Trophy will be in a hybrid model where India's matches will be held in Dubai.

The opening match between Pakistan and New Zealand at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi will start at 3 pm. However, all the matches of this edition will start at 3 pm Bangladesh time.

Important information about the Champions Trophy at a glance

Group-

Since 2006, the Champions Trophy has been held with the participation of 8 teams where two groups of four teams will play in a round-robin league system. Each team will play three matches in the group stage. After that, the top two teams in the points table will advance to the semi-finals. The two winners of the last two semi-finals will advance to the final.

Group 'A': Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and New Zealand

Group 'B': Australia, England, South Africa and Afghanistan

How 8 teams qualified

Previously, the top eight teams in the rankings 6 months before the Champions Trophy qualified to participate. However, this year's eight teams have secured tickets based on their performance in the 2023 ODI World Cup. The top eight teams (including the host nation) in the 10-team points table are selected for the Champions Trophy where the former two champions Sri Lanka and West Indies did not make it.

Prize money

This time, the total prize money has been increased by 53 percent compared to the previous edition of the Champions Trophy. In total, the financial prize money for the 8 competing countries is about Tk. 84 crore in Bangladeshi currency. The allocation for the champion team is about Tk. 27 crore 6 lakh 46 thousand. The runner-up team will get half the money of the champion team.

The third and fourth placed teams that are eliminated from the semi-finals will receive an equal amount of Tk. 6 crore 76 lakh. In addition, each team will receive about Tk. 1 crore 51 lakh for participating in the tournament. And the winning team will receive about Tk. 41 lakh for winning each match.

How Bangladeshi viewers will watch the match

Cricket fans from about 80 countries around the world will be able to watch this year's Champions Trophy. And all the matches will be watched live by Bangladeshi viewers on T Sports and Nagorik TV. In addition, there will be an opportunity to watch the game online. It will be broadcast live on the Toffee app.

Important matches

A total of 15 matches will be held in the 8-team tournament. The two semi-finals will be held on March 4 and 5. Pakistan-New Zealand will face each other in the opening match on February 19. Bangladesh-India will play their first match the next day (February 20).

In addition, the high-voltage match between the two arch-rivals Pakistan-India will be held on February 23. Bangladesh will face New Zealand on February 24, Australia will face South Africa on February 25, Pakistan will face Bangladesh on February 27, South Africa will face England on March 1, and India will face New Zealand on March 2.