Australia and Afghanistan will face each other to make it to the semi-finals
Aus-Afg face each other for a place in champions Trophy semifinals . Australia, the most successful team in cricket history, and Afghanistan, which is fast making its place among the top teams, will want to secure a place in the semi-finals when they face each other in the Champions Trophy here on Friday. After a memorable eight-run win over England at the Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday, Afghanistan has a good chance of making it to the semi-finals of a global competition for the second consecutive time. The team had entered the last four stage of the T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies less than a year ago. Australia will also reach the semi-finals with a win and Afghanistan will be eliminated from the tournament. also read Which team will India face in the Champions Trophy semifinals?
This is easier said than done. Australia may have a very strong batting order but the team is playing without its three key fast bowlers Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. England scored more than 350 runs in their first match of the tournament but then Australia won by five wickets with 15 balls to spare thanks to Josh Inglis’ century. Two-time former champion Australia would like to regain the Champions Trophy title after a gap of 15 years. The team won two consecutive titles in 2006 and 2009 but failed to reach the finals in 2013 and 2017 after which the competition was discontinued.
In the absence of top fast bowlers, Australia know that their strength lies in batting. The team has players like Travis Head, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Glenn Maxwell who are capable of demolishing the opposition bowling attack. There is no doubt that the absence of regular players has weakened the team but it has also provided an opportunity for young players to impress, cement their place in the team and carry forward the rich Australian legacy in the prestigious competition. Australia are expected to perform strongly with the bat while Ben Dwarshuis, Spencer Johnson, Nathan Ellis and Adam Zampa will shoulder the responsibility with the ball in challenging conditions and they know that they have to be at their best if they have to advance from the group stage.
Dwarshuis and Johnson did not perform as expected against England while the match against South Africa was washed out due to rain and they would like to correct their mistake on Friday. In the form of Jampa, Australia has a spinner capable of taking advantage of the conditions in Pakistan. As far as Afghanistan is concerned, their batting will be led by opener Ibrahim Zadran who scored 177 runs against England, which is now the highest individual score in the Champions Trophy.
Australia will not take their opponents lightly after losing to Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup last year and Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott admitted this in the press conference after the win over England. But Trott has no reason to worry as he has a strong bowling attack led by Azmatullah Umarzai. The team also has the spin trio of Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Noor Ahmed.
The squads are as follows: Aus-Afg fight for champions Trophy semifinals
Australia: Steve Smith (captain), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matthew Short and Adam Zampa.
Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Ikram Alikhil, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Umarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Farid Malik, Naveed Zadran. Time: The match will start at 2.30 PM IST.
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