Afghanistan hopes for Semi-final spot, while Bangladesh eyes extra 2.55 crore Taka from England-South Africa clash

The race for the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy is heating up, with some surprising twists in the mix.

Bangladesh, Pakistan, and England have already been eliminated from the tournament after the group stages.

Meanwhile, India, New Zealand, and Australia have secured their places in the semi-finals.

But the battle for the fourth spot is still wide open, and it‍‍`s all going to come down to today‍‍`s match between England and South Africa.

South Africa, led by Temba Bavuma, has put themselves in a strong position for the semi-finals.

But Afghanistan, led by Rashid Khan, is not entirely out of the race yet.

Although their chances are slim, Afghanistan can still make it if the right conditions fall into place.

Here’s where things get interesting – Afghanistan might find themselves cheering for England in today’s match!

While Afghanistan is hoping for a South African loss, Bangladesh has a completely different take on the match.

Bangladesh is rooting for an England defeat. If England loses today, Bangladesh stands to receive an additional $210,000, which amounts to about 2.55 crore Bangladeshi Taka (based on current exchange rates).

Now, how can Bangladesh secure this extra cash? After Bangladesh lost their first two games to New Zealand and India, their hopes of advancing were dashed.

Their last match against Pakistan was called off due to rain, leaving Bangladesh with only 1 point.

Pakistan had the same number of points, but Bangladesh edged them out on net run rate (-0.443 for Bangladesh vs -1.087 for Pakistan), meaning they finished third in Group A.

Even though Bangladesh didn’t win any games, they were already guaranteed $265,000 (around 3.21 crore BDT) from the ICC, as announced before the tournament.

This amount includes a participation fee of $125,000 (around 1.51 crore BDT), plus an additional $140,000 (around 1.7 crore BDT) for finishing seventh or eighth in the points table.

However, Bangladesh‍‍`s financial situation might improve if England loses to South Africa.

In that case, England would finish with zero points, and Bangladesh would move up to sixth place in the standings.

With that, Bangladesh would earn an extra $210,000.

The total amount would then rise to $475,000 (around 5.76 crore BDT), which includes the $350,000 prize (about 4.25 crore BDT) for finishing in fifth or sixth place.

But what if the match between England and South Africa is washed out due to rain?

If that happens, both teams will have just one point, and England will still finish sixth due to a better net run rate (-0.305), while Bangladesh will end up in seventh place.

If England wins today, they will finish in sixth place and Afghanistan’s chances of reaching the semi-finals will become even slimmer.

If South Africa loses, both South Africa and Afghanistan will have 3 points each.

But Afghanistan has a much worse net run rate than South Africa (South Africa +2.140, Afghanistan -0.990).

For Afghanistan to have a shot at the semi-finals, England would need to win by a huge margin to bring down South Africa’s net run rate enough to push them behind Afghanistan.

What would that margin look like? If England bats first and scores 300 runs, South Africa would need to lose by at least 207 runs for Afghanistan to have a chance at making the semi-finals.

It’s a long shot, but could England make the impossible happen for Afghanistan?

Today’s match between England and South Africa could hold the key to whether Afghanistan secures a semi-final spot or whether Bangladesh gets a major financial boost.

All eyes will be on the match, as the final spots in the Champions Trophy are on the line.