Afghanistan is taking on Australia at the Wankhede Stadium in order to keep their semi-finals hopes alive.
New Delhi: Star MMA fighter Abdul Azim Badakhshi wished Rashid Khan and the rest of the Afghanistan team luck ahead of their crucial match against Pat Cummins-led Australia at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, on November 7. Abdul posted a picture with Rashid Khan and Rahmanulla Gurbaz from his official Instagram with a caption wishing the Afghanistan team luck.
“best wishes to the Afghanistan cricket team for their match tomorrow. I’m looking forward to being there to support. Keep performing like the Champions you already are,” Badakhshi captioned his Instagram post.
Abdul Azim Badakhshi also known as the Afghan lion made his much-awaited comeback to the cage in the recent MFN 13 event in the clash against Korean fighter Hae Jin Park. He marked his return with an 18-second first-round KO. This is also the second fastest knockout victory in the history of Matrix Fight Night.
With India and South Africa assured of a place in the semifinals, Australia also have one foot in the knockout stage, the battle for fourth place in the semifinals has virtually turned into a shoot-out between three teams, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, all with eight points.
Pakistan and New Zealand have played eight matches each and have only one remaining while Afghanistan have played seven and have two matches in hand. Winning the two matches will seal their berth in the semifinal but it seems easier said than done as Afghanistan face Australia and South Africa in their last two matches in the 2023 World Cup.
Afghanistan, who caused a big sensation in the tournament by stunning defending champions England, go into Tuesday’s clash buoyed by three consecutive wins against Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Netherlands. But Australia is a different kettle of fish and Afghanistan will have to play out of their skins to put it across the five-time World Champions who have recovered from a slow start to win five matches. Pat Cummins’ side had lost to India in their opening match and they fell to South Africa too.
Australia too have one more match to play after they clash with Afghanistan as they take on Bangladesh on November 11 in Pune — winning one of these two matches will take them to 12 points and seal their berth in the semifinals.