Afghanistan have won the toss and elected to bat first against Australia in the Group B clash of the 2025 Champions Trophy at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday. There was heavy rain in the lead-up to the clash at Lahore, but skies cleared up in time for the toss to happen. Friday’s match will be played on a used pitch, where Australia previously faced England in the eight-team tournament. Afghanistan need to beat Australia to secure their qualification for the semi-finals, but a defeat to Australia would knock them out of the competition. Even if the match is later abandoned due to rain, it won’t favour Afghanistan, as they could still be eliminated from the tournament on the basis of the net run rate. Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi said their playing eleven is unchanged from their thrilling win over England. Australia skipper Steve Smith said he would have bowled first as well. Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatulla Shahidi (captain), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, and Fazalhaq Farooqi. Australia: Matthew Short, Travis Head, Steve Smith ( captain), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis, Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, and Spencer Johnson.
