Afghanistan, Australia set for high-stakes clash with semi-final spot on line

Group B of the ongoing Champions Trophy 2025 gears up for a big finish as Afghanistan and Australia lock horns with each other at Lahores Gadaffi Stadium on Friday Both teams are vying for a place in the semifinals making this a highstakes encounterThis pair have met in some gripping recent encounters in ICC events adding even more spice to this contestAt the 2023 Mens Cricket World Cup a Glenn Maxwell classic helped Australia across the line Afghanistan would pull one back against the Aussies at last years Mens T20 World Cup in another thrillerBoth sides scraped home for wins against England so how will they stack upRecent formAfghanistan The form has been mixed but Afghanistan will enter their match with Australia filled with confidence after getting the better of England on Wednesday This win came after a heavy 107run loss to South Africa in their opening tournament fixture Before the Champions Trophy Afghanistan proved worthy qualifiers by winning their four most recent bilateral series against Ireland South Africa Bangladesh and ZimbabweAustralia The Aussies launched their tournament campaign with a theatrical win over England before their huge showdown with South Africa was abandoned due to the rain Australia entered the Champions Trophy in uncertain form having been outplayed in a twomatch series against Sri Lanka losing 20 The team is attempting to make a deep push without worldclass bowling trio Pat Cummins Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazelwood who are all unavailable for various reasonsPlayers in focusAfghanistan Ibrahim ZadranIts impossible to look past Afghanistans star opening batter after his enormous 177 off 146 balls to steer his team to victory over England While their batting lineup has filled out in recent years theres no question that Ibrahim remains a cornerstone figure in their team Australias bowling attack is light on experience and this matchup looms as pivotalAustralia Spencer JohnsonGiven how vital toporder runs are for Afghanistan who will most likely end up batting first given both teams noted preferences Australias opening quicks could carve out their path to a victory After 054 off seven overs against England Johnson will be desperate to hone in and change his fortunes here particularly targeting the wicket of the aforementioned IbrahimSquadsAfghanistan Hashmatullah Shahidi c Ibrahim Zadran Rahmanullah Gurbaz Sediqullah Atal Rahmat Shah Ikram Alikhil Gulbadin Naib Azmatullah Omarzai Mohammad Nabi Rashid Khan AM Ghazanfar Noor Ahmad Fazalhaq Farooqi Farid Malik Naveed ZadranAustralia Steve Smith c Sean Abbott Alex Carey Ben Dwarshuis Nathan Ellis Jake FraserMcGurk Aaron Hardie Travis Head Josh Inglis Spencer Johnson Marnus Labuschagne Glenn Maxwell Tanveer Sangha Matthew Short Adam ZampaWith agency inputs