Are Afghanistan out of 2023 World Cup after 3-wicket loss to Australia?

Afghanistan suffered one of the most heartbreaking defeats in their penultimate league-stage clash of the 2023 World Cup against Australia in Mumbai on November 7.

Despite scoring 291 and having the Aussies reeling at 91/7, the Afghans let a golden opportunity to enter the top four on the points table slip away. Thanks to Glenn Maxwell's historic record-breaking 201* off 128 deliveries, Afghanistan suffered a three-wicket loss.

While a victory would have meant that the Afghans would have had their semi-final hopes in their hand, defeat has put their destiny out of their control. Yet, the positive for the side is that they are not yet eliminated from qualifying for the knockout stage of the tournament.

With eight points in as many games, Afghanistan play South Africa in their final outing at Ahmedabad on Friday, November 10. Should they win that game and finish on 10 points and have New Zealand and Pakistan (8 points each) lose their final outing, Afghanistan will finish fourth and advance to the semi-final.

Furthermore, if one or both New Zealand and Pakistan win their final match, Afghanistan can still qualify if they also win their last games and boost their net run rate higher than the two sides.

Unfortunately for Hashmatullah Shahidi's outfit, their net run rate of -0.338 is well below Pakistan's and New Zealand's of +0.036 and + 0.398, respectively.

Afghanistan can also qualify for the knockouts with a defeat to South Africa. However, that would require a miracle, with the Kiwis and Pakistan losing by a massive margin to Sri Lanka and England and having their net run rate drop below theirs.

A third dimension in this three-way race could be the weather playing spoilsport, forcing the teams to share points, adding further drama.

But all said, while Afghanistan have made their qualification to the semi-final twice as hard by letting go of a tremendous opportunity against the Aussies, they are still alive in the tournament.

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"The dropped chances hurt us" - Hashmatullah Shahidi

Hasmatullah Shahidi was bitterly disappointed at the post-match presentation.

Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi admitted that the dropped catches off Glenn Maxwell hurt the side's chances to pull off a memorable upset against Australia.

Walking in with the Aussies in dire straits at 98/7 in their run chase of 292, Maxwell miscued a leg-side hoick that just fell short of the Shahidi. However, the biggest culprit for Afghanistan was the straightforward chance put down by Mujeeb Ur Rahman when the batter was on 33.

The destructive batter never looked back and scored the highest-ever score in a run-chase with 201* to bulldoze Australia to a three-wicket win in the 47th over.

At the post-match presentation, a visibly distraught Shahidi said:

"Very disappointed. Cricket is a funny game, it was unbelievable for us. We were in the game, our bowlers started very well and the dropped chances hurt us. After that, Maxwell doesn't stop, he played every kind of shot and I can give credit to him. I think the dropped catches were the key, after that Maxwell played really well."

While the defeat dented Afghanistan's chances of semi-final qualification, the Aussies have confirmed a spot in the semi-final for a third consecutive World Cup.

They will take on South Africa in the semi-final in Kolkata, irrespective of other results in the remainder of the tournament. The five-time world champions will take on Bangladesh in their final game of the round-robin stage at Pune on Saturday, November 11.