Rain Forecast In Lahore As Afghanistan Put Smith And Co To Field First In Champions Trophy

Australia are ready to take on Afghanistan [Source: AP]

Australia are ready to take on Afghanistan in the Champions Trophy 2025 match. The match is currently take place at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday, February 28. Afghanistan Hashmatullah Shahidi has won the toss and opted to bat first against Aussies in their last match of the group-stage. It is important to note that both the teams are going for the same playing XI.

During the toss, Hashmatullah Shahidi revealed the reason behind opting batting first, 

"It looks a good pitch but it is a used one. Australia and England played on this surface. Hopefully, it will get slower and the spin will work for us later in the day. We were happy with our performance. We also discussed the planning against Australia. Hopefully, we will implement those on the field today."

On the other hand, Steve Smith revealed that they wanted to bowl first, he stated, 

"Yeah, we would've bowled first. With a bit of rainfall around and dew as well, we are not too unhappy bowling first. All the guys are good. We are looking forward to face a good looking Afghanistan side. They played really well against England and we are expecting a good contest today. Yeah that's right. Must win for us. We must come here with good intent and very good aggression. We can't wait to get things started. "

AUS vs AFG: Playing XI's

Australia Playing XI: Matthew Short, Travis Head, Steve Smith (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Aaron Hardie, Spencer Johnson

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

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