Australia beat Afghanistan by four runs to keep semifinal hopes alive in T20 World Cup
Adelaide, Nov 4: Defending champions Australia survived a late Rashid Khan onslaught to eke out a narrow four-run win over Afghanistan and keep their slim semifinal hopes alive in the T20 World Cup here on Friday.
By virtue of the win, Australia moved to the second spot in Group 1 with seven points from five games, same as New Zealand, who became the first team to qualify for the semifinals on account of a better net run rate.
Australia, however, failed to get past England's net run rate as the hosts needed to restrict Afghanistan below 106 after posting 168 for eight.
That means if England beat Sri Lanka in Sydney in their final game on Saturday, they too will finish with seven points and will join New Zealand in the semifinal from Group 1 with a better net run rate.
Glenn Maxwell was the top-scorer for Australia as he hit a quickfire fifty but Afghanistan pulled things back nicely in the final five overs to limit the defending champions to a decent total.
Maxwell made an unbeaten 32-ball 54 that included six boundaries and two hits over the fence after Afghanistan invited Australia to bat.
In response, Afghanistan nearly pulled off a sensational win, riding on Rashid's (48 not out off 23 balls) pyrotechnics but eventually fell short.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz got Afghanistan's chase off to a decent start with a 17-ball 30 during which he struck two boundaries and as many sixes but Australia forged their way back, removing both the openers.
Gulbadin Naib (39) and Ibrahim Zadran (26), however, were in no mood to give up without a fight and stitched 59 runs off 46 balls for the second wicket.
Both Naib and Zadran used the inside out shots over the infield to good effect and kept the Afghans in the hunt.
It took a brilliant piece of work from Maxwell from the outfield to break the stand. Maxwell came up with a direct hit from deep mid-wicket to cut short Naib's innings and then in the very next ball Zadran top-edged Adam Zampa to Marsh.
Zampa inflicted another missed timed shot to dismiss Najibullah Zadran as Afghanistan lost the plot in the 14th over.
Towards the end, Rashid played some lusty blows and together with Darwish Rasooli shared quick 45 runs off 28 balls to reduce the equation to 22 of the last over.
Rashid managed to hit Marcus Stonis for two fours and one six in the final over but it was not enough.
Earlier, Australia lost Cameroon Green early but David Warner (25 off 18) and Mitchell Marsh (45 off 30) kept up the run rate up with their fiery strokeplay.
But two quick wickets in the sixth over in the form of Warner and Steve Smith saw the hosts slump to 52 for 3 in the powerplay.
While Warner was bowled by a Naveen-ul-Haq off-cutter as the batter went for an extravagant switch hit, Smith was adjudged LBW three balls later.
Marsh then top-edged Mujeeb Ur Rahman (1/42) while going for a slog sweep and Gurbaz took a fine high catch to sent the batter packing as Australia were reduced to 86 for 4 in the 11th over.
Maxwell and Stoinis (25 off 21) then joined hands and shared 53 runs off just 29 balls for the fifth wicket.
While Maxwell looked in ominous form, cutting, pulling and lofting Afghan bowlers over the boundary, Stoinis struggled with his timing.
Stoinis had just two sixes during his 21-ball knock before he handed a simple catch to Usman Ghani at backward point off Rashid.
Stand-in captain Matthew Wade too didn't trouble the scorers much as he was cleaned up by Fazalhaq Farooqi's toe-crushing yorker.
From 133 for 4 in 15 overs, Australia kept on losing wickets to lose the momentum as Maxwell found boundaries hard to come by after a promising start.
Maxwell brought up his fifty off 29 balls with a four off Farooqi in the final over and found the fence again in the last ball to finish the innings on a high.
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Motivational speaker Sonu Sharma slams govt, Supreme Court over Aravalli Hills order
Says If Aravalli falls, our future falls
New Delhi: Motivational speaker and life coach Sonu Sharma has strongly criticised the Narendra Modi-led central government and the Supreme Court over recent developments related to the Aravalli Hills, warning that the decisions could have long-term consequences for North India’s environment and air quality.
In a video posted on social media, Sharma questioned the logic behind treating parts of the Aravalli range measuring less than 100 metres in height as non-mountains, a position that has emerged from recent legal interpretations. Without naming specific judgments, Sharma said such reasoning effectively strips large portions of the ancient mountain range of legal protection and opens the door for large-scale mining.
The Aravalli range, considered one of the oldest mountain systems in the world, plays a crucial role in checking desertification, regulating climate and acting as a natural barrier against dust storms from the Thar desert. Environmentalists have long warned that continued degradation of the Aravallis could worsen air pollution in cities such as Delhi and accelerate ecological damage across Rajasthan, Haryana and the National Capital Region.
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In the video, Sharma argued that redefining mountains based on arbitrary height criteria amounts to legitimising environmental destruction. He compared it to denying basic human identity based on physical attributes, calling the approach illogical and dangerous. He claimed that in Rajasthan alone, nearly 12,000 peaks are part of the Aravalli system, and that only around 1,000 of them exceed 100 metres, leaving the vast majority vulnerable to legal mining activity.
Sharma also took aim at a televised statement by senior news anchor Rajat Sharma, who had said that Delhi’s pollution gets trapped because the city is shaped like a bowl surrounded by the Aravalli Hills. Sharma rejected the argument that the Aravallis are responsible for pollution, instead describing them as the “lungs of North India” whose destruction is aggravating the crisis.
Without directly naming the court, Sharma said institutions were issuing orders without understanding environmental realities. His remarks have been widely interpreted as a criticism of the Supreme Court’s recent stance on the Aravalli Hills, which has drawn concern from environmental groups who fear it may weaken safeguards against mining.
The video has gained significant traction online, given Sharma’s large following of over five million followers on Instagram and more than 13 million subscribers on YouTube. Many users echoed his concerns, saying unchecked mining and construction in the Aravallis would worsen water scarcity, air pollution and desertification.
Sharma ended his message with a call to protect the Aravalli range, warning that continued neglect would have irreversible consequences. “If the Aravalli falls, our future will also fall,” he said, urging citizens to speak up against policies and orders that, in his view, prioritise development over environmental survival.
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