Afghanistan vs Australia: The State of Play
After knocking England out of the ICC Champions Trophy in a thriller on Wednesday, Afghanistan return to Lahore on Friday in search of another underdog win when they meet two-time champions Australia.
Opener Ibrahim Zadran broke the record for the highest individual score at the tournament with 177 as his side won by eight runs to move third in Group B, a point behind second-placed Australia and leaders South Africa.
Victory for either side would guarantee a place in the final four, although there are concerns that the game could be washed out.
“Our focus will be to keep things simple and not worry too much about a semi-final,” Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said.
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“We will come with a good plan [to deal with] the whole of the Australian team. The Afghan people always cheer for us – wherever we go, they come to the stadiums.
“We know Australia are a tough team. They look for opposition players’ strengths and weak points.”
Australia beat England by five wickets in Lahore on February 22, proving their only match so far after their encounter with South Africa in Rawalpindi was abandoned without a ball bowled on Tuesday.
“We’d love to win and silence the crowd,” batter Marnus Labuschagne said. “But for us, it’s all about making sure we stick to our process and really engage in the game.
“We must be ready to play and whatever gets thrown at us – doesn’t matter what the situation is – come out and perform at our best.
“As players, you always want to play. If the whole match rains out… we go through to the to the semi-finals – but we’d love to be able to win and finish top.”
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Afghanistan vs Australia team news
Bowlers Sean Abbott and Tanveer Sangha could be options to come in for Australia after England scored 351 runs against Andrew McDonald’s team.
Glenn Maxwell scored 201 when Australia beat Afghanistan by three wickets at the 2023 World Cup, although Shahidi was keen to emphasise that no player will be given more focus than others in his team’s gameplan.
Afghanistan are unlikely to make changes and will hope their spin bowlers can succeed on a pitch that has produced high scores.
Rashid Khan needs one wicket to become the first Afghanistan bowler to take 200 One-Day International wickets, while seamer Azmatullah Omarzai took 5-58 against England.
Afghanistan vs Australia expected line-ups
Afghanistan: Zadran, Gurbaz (wk), Atal, Shah, Shahidi (c), Omarzai, Nabi, Naib, Khan, Ahmad, Farooqi
Australia: Short, Head, Smith (c), Labuschagne, Inglis (wk), Carey, Maxwell, Abbott, Dwarshuis, Ellis, Zampa
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How to watch Afghanistan vs Australia: TV channel, live stream
The ICC Champions Trophy can be watched in the UK on Sky Sports. Friday’s coverage starts on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket at 0830.
In India, it is being shown on the JioStar network with JioHotstar providing live streaming. On television, in addition to the English feed, coverage will also be available in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada across Star Sports and Sports18 channels.
Afghanistan vs Australia prediction
Australia have won all four previous editions of the fixture in this format – including two in Asia – but an Afghanistan team full of confidence can be backed to make history when the sides face each other in Pakistan for the first time.
Afghanistan will hope to bat first and Zadran could shine again, having scored an unbeaten 129 off 143 deliveries in his only previous ODI game against these opponents.
Australia will go through if the contest is washed out and could advance with a defeat if England conclude their campaign by thrashing South Africa.
Should Afghanistan not win, the Proteas are likely to go through at their expense even if they lose.
