Matthew Wade: Hopefully, it doesn’t cost us

Oz survive scare to beat Afghans by 4 runs and keep slim semis chance alive; skipper hopes slow start to T20 World Cup won’t affect defending champions

Australia’s stand-in captain Matthew Wade hoped the slow start to their title defence at the T20 World Cup doesn’t come back to haunt them as their semi-final hopes hinge on the outcome of the clash between England and Sri Lanka on Saturday.

Australia on Friday kept their slim hopes of reaching the knockout stage alive with a narrow four-run win over Afghanistan in their last Super 12 match, which saw them move to the second spot in the points table, behind New Zealand.

Also Read: NZ score 185/6 against Ireland

England, who are currently placed at third spot, will face Sri Lanka on Saturday, with a win sealing a semi-final spot. Australia will qualify for the semi-finals if Sri Lanka emerge victorious against England.

“We will stay here tonight and watch the game tomorrow, we will be hoping for an upset. We put ourselves in this position from the get-go, we have been slow in this tournament and hopefully, it doesn’t cost us,” Wade said during the post-match presentation on Friday. Australia survived a mighty scare after Rashid Khan conjured up hopes of an upset with a sensational 23-ball 48. Needing 22 off the last over bowled by Marcus Stoinis, Rashid managed to hit the bowler for two fours and one six but it was not enough in the end.

Also Read: Shreyas Iyer steers Mumbai into Mushtaq Ali Trophy final

Brief scores
Australia 168-8 (G Maxwell 54*, M Marsh 45; N-ul-Haq 3-21, F Farooqi 2-29) beat Afghanistan 164-7 (Rashid 48*, G Naib 39, R Gurbaz 30; A Zampa 2-22, 
J Hazlewood 2-33) by 4 runs

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