World Cup 2023: Afghanistan beat the Netherlands to boost semi-final hopes
SUMMARY: Afghanistan 181 for 3 (Shahidi 56*, Rahmat 52, van Beek 1-30) beat Netherlands 179 (Engelbrecht 58, Nabi 3-28) by seven wickets
Afghanistan continued their late surge for a place in the World Cup semi-finals with a seven-wicket win over the Netherlands in Lucknow.
The victory moves Afghanistan to the level with Australia and New Zealand at eight points, with only a net run rate now keeping them out of the top four.
Hashmatullah Shahidi hit an unbeaten 56 as Afghanistan passed their target of 180 with 18.3 overs to spare.
The Netherlands were earlier dismissed for 179 inside 47 overs.
The win tees up a potentially pivotal encounter against Australia in Mumbai on Tuesday, though the five-time winners have a game in hand against England on Saturday.
Afghanistan also still has to play in-form South Africa in their final group game.
Pakistan are still in the top-four race and can move to eight points if they beat New Zealand in Saturday’s early match.
Victory for New Zealand would see Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Netherlands and England all eliminated, given Australia and Afghanistan face each other, so at least one of them will score a minimum of nine points. (BBC)
