LUCKNOW: Afghanistan continued their march for a semifinal spot after they defeated Netherlands by 7 wickets in the Ekana Stadium on Friday.
Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi and Rahmat Shah both scored fifties as Afghanistan chased down 180 in 31.3 overs.
The victory moves Afghanistan level with Australia and New Zealand on eight points, with only net run-rate now keeping them out of the top four.
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 have to play in-form South Africa in their final group game.
Pakistan are also 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.
