Afghanistan Vs Australia Highlights, ICC Champions Trophy 2025: AUS Reach Semis As Match Ends In No Result Due To Rain

Hello everyone, hope you're having a great day. We're back with another live blog, and this time, it's Afghanistan vs Australia in the ICC Champions Trophy. A crucial clash awaits, so stay tuned. The match kicks off at 2:30 PM IST.

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Ikram Alikhil, Nangeyalia Kharote, Naveed Zadran

Australia: Matthew Short, Travis Head, Steven Smith(c), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis(w), Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Sean Abbott, Tanveer Sangha

Some cricket matches go beyond the spirit of sports, they’re shaped by politics, governments, and deep-rooted ideologies. Bilateral series are off the table for these countries, but ICC events force them to meet, bringing all their tensions with them. India vs Pakistan carries decades of geopolitical friction, while Afghanistan vs Australia comes loaded with the Taliban라이브 바카라 crackdown on women라이브 바카라 sports.

Read full story HERE.

Both captains, Hashmatullah Shahidi and Steve Smith, are in the middle. Afghanistan win the toss and opt to bat first.

Australia (Playing XI): Matthew Short, Travis Head, Steven Smith(c), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis, Alex Carey(w), Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson

Afghanistan (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Hasmatullah Shahidi said, "We will bat first because the wicket looks good. It is a used pitch - England and Australia already played on this pitch, so it will slow down in the second half and hopefully, our spinners will come into play. We were happy with the performance in our last game. We also have made plans against Australia and hopefully, we can rectify the mistakes we made against England. We are going with the same team."

Steven Smith stated, "We would have bowled first. Uncertain overhead conditions and there라이브 바카라 the dew factor as well. All the guys are doing good. It should be a good contest and [we are] looking forward to it. Coming here with good intent and aggression and ready to get started. Same team for us."

The stage is set as the national anthems come to a close. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran stride out to open the innings, with Spencer Johnson ready to bowl the first delivery.

Johnson to Gurbaz, who neatly tucks it behind square leg and immediately calls for two. A full-throttle sprint and he makes it back just in time. All this action on the very first ball, game on.

AFG 3/0 (0.2)

Aussies strike early. Spencer Johnson bowls to Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who gets a couple of leg byes as the ball brushes his pads and races behind square leg. Gurbaz calls for a quick double, sprinting hard to make it back just in time off the very first ball.

Johnson then bowls wide, but the pitch is carrying well. A perfectly timed yorker swings in late, and Gurbaz is clean bowled. Australia makes an early breakthrough.

Ben Dwarshuis from the other end. The lateral movement in the air has caused problems for the batters so far. Atal gets off the mark with a double, courtesy of a misfield by the cover fielder.

Spencer Johnson starts with a beauty off the first ball, the delivery just clearing the middle stump and beating Ibrahim Zadran라이브 바카라 outside edge. Four byes! The ball then swings late, going past Atal라이브 바카라 inside edge and beating the keeper as well.

A wide down the leg side adds five more to Afghanistan라이브 바카라 tally. 12 runs off the over in total.

Dwarshuis bowls, shaping the ball away from the left-hander. Atal nudges it towards square leg, collecting a well-run double. Just two runs come from that over.

Johnson has been outstanding, bowling with great pace and getting excellent carry, with the pitch providing good support. Three singles came from that over.

Spencer Johnson bowls to Sediqullah Atal, and what a delightful shot! That stroke will definitely give Sediqullah Atal a boost in confidence. Just a fraction of room, and he pounced on it beautifully.

Zadran picks up his first boundary, beautifully driving the ball towards cover point with the face of the bat open. Atal follows suit, driving the next ball past point for a well-timed couple.

Atal continues to hunt for boundaries. A delivery on the pads, and Atal effortlessly glides it fine to the boundary. Seven runs come from that over.

Sediqullah Atal is in blazing form. A delivery on the pads, and Atal expertly tucks it away towards fine leg for four. Afghanistan's scoring rate is solid, with singles coming consistently as well.

Glenn Maxwell comes into the attack, and he라이브 바카라 getting the ball to turn. Just seven runs have come from the last 12 balls.

Ibrahim Zadran is out, caught by Labuschagne! A soft dismissal for Afghanistan라이브 바카라 centurion from the last game, who falls cheaply today. It's a huge breakthrough for Australia.

Zampa delivers a short, wide ball that turns slowly. Zadran reaches out to it, but can’t control his shot. He ends up edging it uppishly towards backward point. Labuschagne moves swiftly to his right and takes a comfortable reverse cup catch. Zampa strikes in his first over.

AFG 75/2 (16.1)

Maxwell bowls a short ball, and Rahmat pulls it powerfully towards midwicket for a boundary. But next ball, Rahmat is gone! The ball catches the outside edge and flies straight to the keeper, who takes a sharp catch.

Hashmatullah Shahidi is now at the crease. Six runs come off the over.

AFG 91/3 (18.2)

Sediqullah Atal brings up his fifty with a spectacular six. He launches a huge heave over wide long-on off Maxwell, sending the ball sailing for six. The half-century comes off 64 balls, a vital knock under pressure.

Ellis delivers one to Sediqullah Atal, and there's a massive appeal for LBW. Ellis is up in arms, pleading for the wicket. The tension builds as Smith and the team deliberate on whether to review it. After a lengthy discussion, they decide against it.

The delivery was back of a length, on middle and leg, was there an issue with it pitching outside the line?

AFG 144/3 (28.5)

Big, big breakthrough for Australia as Spencer Johnson gets the job done Atal goes for the drive, just a touch on the up, but oh no, he can’t keep it down. The ball sails to cover, and there라이브 바카라 Steve Smith, as cool as you like, taking a sharp, low catch! You can feel the tension in the air – a crucial wicket for the Aussies! Afghanistan's momentum takes a hit here.

Spencer Johnson charging in, Hashmatullah Shahidi nudges one to backward point for a quick single. Now, Azmatullah라이브 바카라 turn! Johnson hurls a 138 kph delivery right on the stumps, and Azmatullah smartly works it to mid-wicket for another quick run.

But hold up, here comes some drama Johnson dishes out a full one down leg, Shahidi swings, misses, and gets pinged on the pads! No worries though, they snatch a cheeky leg bye as the ball rolls to mid-wicket.

The partnership is broken again, and Australia has tightened the noose. Shahidi, struggling to find any momentum, shuffled in to ramp sweep a flat, wide delivery from Zampa.

The extra bounce got the better of him, and he couldn’t control the shot. The ball ballooned off the top of the bat and flew to backward square leg, where Labuschagne made no mistake. A crucial breakthrough for Australia.

And the struggle continues! The Afghans now lose Gulbadin Naib (4) as Nathan Ellis strikes.

With Rashid Khan now at the crease, Azmatullah Omarzai (21*) holds the key for a late push. Let's see if the lower orders can create some magic.

Azmatullah Omarzai, after launching a monstrous 103m six straight down the ground, continues to rotate the strike and find boundaries when needed.

With Noor Ahmad providing support at the other end, Afghanistan edge past 250, ensuring they have something to bowl at.

Earlier, Rashid Khan라이브 바카라 cameo came to an end as he fell to Ben Dwarshuis, caught by Glenn Maxwell down the ground. He departs for 19 off 17, including two fours, leaving Omarzai to carry the fight in the final overs.

AFG: 254/8 (47.4)

Afghanistan were bowled out for 273 in 50 overs, setting Australia a target of 274 on a Lahore surface that had something to offer for the bowlers.

The innings came to an end dramatically, with Azmatullah Omarzai라이브 바카라 valiant knock of 67 off 63 balls finally halted by Ben Dwarshuis. The Afghan all-rounder had fought hard, smashing one four and five massive sixes, but his attempt to clear the field once more resulted in a mistimed shot straight into the hands of Alex Carey at sweeper cover. With his departure, Afghanistan's hopes of a final flourish rested on the last pair.

Noor Ahmad struck a boundary but did a mistake on the final ball, edging behind to Josh Inglis. A review confirmed the nick, ending Afghanistan라이브 바카라 innings at 273 in 50 overs.

AFG: 273 (50)

Matthew Short and Travis Head start the chase for Australia, with Azmatullah Omarzai starting the bowling attack for Afghanistan.

Afghanistan miss an early breakthrough! and adding to the woes is Rashid Khan dropping two catches.

Travis Head and Matthew Short have come out all guns blazing in Australia's chase, making full use of the powerplay. While Head (16 off 11) has looked solid, Short (20 off 14) has taken a more aggressive approach, hammering three boundaries and a towering six off Azmatullah Omarzai.

AUS: 43/0 (4.1)

Matthew Short's aggressive knock comes to an end! After a brisk 20 off 15 balls, he mistimes a flick off Omarzai, getting a leading edge to mid-on, where Gulbadin Naib takes a well-judged catch. Maybe, Afghanistan won't mind after Rashid Khan's earlier drop.

AUS: 44/1 (4.3)

Travis Head is taking charge of Australia's chase now with a blazing 59*(40)! The left-hander brought up his 17th ODI fifty in style, reaching the milestone in just 35 balls. Steve Smith 19*(22) smashes whenever needed.

Meanwhile, rain stops the pay for now!

AUS: 109/1 (12.5)

At 19:02 local time in Lahore, rain has interrupted the Afghanistan vs Australia play at Gaddafi Stadium. The groundsmen have covered the pitch, and with a strong wind blowing, there's hope the weather will clear soon.

However, the rain has intensified, and if play doesn't resume within an hour, overs will start to be deducted. A no-result would see Australia advance to the semi-finals.

Today's weather forecast predicted only a 25% chance of rain, with temperatures ranging from a high of 24°C to a low of 10°C.

Meanwhile, in the Champions Trophy, chaos surrounds Team England, who have already been eliminated from the semi-final race, as captain Jos Buttler resigns from his white-ball captaincy role. Read the full story HERE

The sky is clear now, but the water puddles still need to be cleared. The groundstaff are hard at work with mop sticks, trying to remove the remaining water from the surface. The umpires have scheduled an inspection at 20:30 local time, which is 9:00 PM IST.

The groundstaff at Gaddafi continue their efforts with mop sticks and the super sopper, but the outfield remains a concern. The umpires are keeping a close watch as the next inspection at 20:45 local time - 9:15 PM IST approaches. Overs have already started being reduced.

That's it! The umpires have officially called off the game due to a damp outfield. They had one final look but decided conditions weren't fit for play. The skippers shake hands, and Australia walk away with a semi-final spot secured.

As for Afghanistan, their fate now depends on England--only a big favour from them can keep their knockout hopes alive.

Amost yes. For Afghanistan to qualify, England must beat South Africa by at least 207 runs if they bat first. If England chase, they’ll need to meet the target in only 11.1 overs (assuming a first-innings total of 300). A massive ask, but Afghanistan will be hoping for a miracle!