Champions Trophy 2025 Group B points table: How can England, Australia, Afghanistan qualify for semis? Explained

Afghanistan's win over England and the washout in Rawalpindi between South Africa and Australia have complicated Group B in the race for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 semifinal. Having knocked England out in the 2023 ODI World Cup, Hashmatullah Shahidi's side did it again as Jos Buttler's team fell eight runs short despite a brilliant fight from Joe Root and others.

With two more matches to go in Group B, the battle for the top two spots has intensified. Afghanistan, Australia, and South Africa are all in contention for the remaining two semifinal spots, alongside already-qualified India and New Zealand.

Champions Trophy 2025 semifinal qualification scenarios in Group B

• Australia: With three points from two matches, Australia are currently topping the points table. A win against Afghanistan will take them to five points and through to the knockouts. If they lose, Steve Smith's side will remain at three points and have to wait for the outcome of the South Africa vs England encounter to know their fate.
• Afghanistan: Afghanistan needs to beat Australia to qualify for the semifinals. If they win against Australia, they will get four points from three games. In that case, it will be a fight between Australia and South Africa.
• South Africa: The Temba Bavuma-led side needs to win against England to advance to the semifinals. A win would take them to a maximum of five points, which would be enough to take them through. A loss will keep them at three points, with their fate hanging on the Afghanistan vs Australia clash. Even if South Africa loses against England and Afghanistan loses to Australia, the Proteas will be through.

What happens if remaining games get washed out?

The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 has already seen two washouts. Apart from the Australia vs South Africa clash, the Pakistan vs Bangladesh match was also abandoned without a ball being bowled.

In case both the remaining matches get washed out, Australia, Afghanistan, and South Africa will each get one point. In that case, Australia and South Africa will go through with four points each, as Afghanistan will be left with three points.