Champions Trophy 2025: Rain, fiery batting cruise Australia to semi-final

Australia powered to the semi-final of the Champions Trophy after their 10th match against Afghanistan was interrupted by rain at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Friday.

The match saw Australia off to a flying start in their 274-run chase against Afghanistan. They had scored 109 runs for the loss of Matthew Short (20) in 12.5 overs before torrential rain halted play. At the time of the interruption, Travis Head (59 off 40) and Steve Smith (19 off 22) were at the crease.

Afghanistan’s Azmatullah Omarzai (1-43) bagged one wicket but conceded 43 runs in his initial overs. Meanwhile, Fazalhaq Farooqi (3-32), Mohammad Nabi (0-13), and Noor Ahmad (0-13) failed to take wickets.

Earlier, Afghanistan set a target of 274, with a resilient 95-ball 85 from Sediqullah Atal and a blazing 63-ball 67 from Azmatullah Omarzai. Afghanistan opted to bat first but faced a shaky start, losing three wickets for just 91 runs. However, they recovered well to post a total of 273 before being bowled out on the final delivery.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz once again failed to make an impact with the bat, departing for a duck. Ibrahim Zadran, who scored 177 in the previous match, could not convert his innings into a big score and managed just 22 runs off 28 balls. Rahmat Shah made 12 off 21 balls, while captain Hashmatullah Shahidi scored 20 off 49 balls, including one boundary.

Azmatullah Omarzai's contribution was significant, with one boundary and five towering sixes. Mohammad Nabi (1), Gulbadin Nabi (4), Rashid Khan (19), and Noor Ahmad (6) all failed to make significant contributions. Fazalhaq Farooqi remained unbeaten on 1 ball for 0 runs.

For Australia, Ben Dwarshius (3-47) was the standout bowler, taking three wickets. Adam Zampa (2-48) and Spencer Johnson (2-49) each claimed two wickets. Glenn Maxwell (1-28) and Nathan Ellis (1-60) took one scalp each, while Matthew Short (0-21) went wicketless.