At Lahore’s Gadaffi Stadium on Friday, Afghanistan and Australia square off in Group B of the current Champions Trophy 2025, setting up a thrilling finale. This is a crucial match since both teams are fighting for a spot in the semifinals.

This matchup is made considerably more interesting by the fact that the two had recently faced off in several intense ICC competitions.
Australia won the 2023 Men’s Cricket World Cup thanks to a Glenn Maxwell classic. In another thrilling match in the Men’s T20 World Cup last year, Afghanistan would come back against the Australians.

How will they compare after both teams barely prevailed against England?
Current form:

Afghanistan: Although their performance has been inconsistent, they will be more confident going into their encounter against Australia after defeating England on Wednesday. This victory followed a crushing defeat to South Africa by 107 runs in their first tournament match. Afghanistan demonstrated their eligibility for the Champions Trophy by defeating South Africa, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, and Ireland in their last four bilateral series.

Australia: The Australians had a spectacular victory against England to start their tournament campaign, but the weather forced them to postpone their crucial match against South Africa. Australia was in poor form going into the Champions Trophy after losing 2-0 to Sri Lanka in a two-match series. The squad is trying to push hard without Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazelwood, three of the best bowlers in the world, who are all out for different reasons.

Players under consideration:
Ibrahim Zadran, Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s outstanding opening batsman, who led his nation to win against England with an incredible 177 off 146 balls, is unmissable. Ibrahim is still unquestionably a key member of their club, even if their batting order has expanded in recent years. With their inexperienced bowling attack, Australia faces a crucial encounter.

Spencer Johnson, Australia
Given the importance of top-order runs to Afghanistan, who will probably bat first due to the highlighted preferences of both sides, Australia’s early quicks might pave the way for victory. Johnson will be eager to focus and turn things around after taking 0/54 from seven overs against England. He will especially be looking to take out the previously mentioned Ibrahim.

Naveed Zadran, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rahmat Shah, Sediqullah Atal, Ikram Alikhil, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Farid Malik, and Hashmatullah Shahidi (c) comprise the Afghan squad.

Jason Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa, Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, and Steve Smith (c) represent Australia.