In the eighth match of the ongoing Champions Trophy, Afghanistan and England will be clashing with each other in a do-or-die battle, which will be played on Wednesday at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Both teams would desperately be eying a victory to keep themselves alive in the tournament. England kicked off their campaign in a dull fashion, losing to Australia by six wickets in their first game.
Despite England putting out a massive total on the back of Ben Duckett’s searing 165, England failed to record victory, with their bowlers failing in their task. This clash is crucial for England to win to consolidate their chances for semis. Afghanistan, on the other hand, will also be fighting for their survival after losing their opening match against South Africa.
Their bowlers performed poorly, allowing proteas to muster 315, which caused panic among Afghanistan batters, who, in reply, could post 208 all out. Talking about their last 50-over meeting, both England and Afghanistan had seen each other at the ODI World Cup 2023, where Afghanistan had stunned England by recording a historic 69-run win. However, heading into this match, both sides have formidable lineups but England carry an edge given their incredibly explosive batting attack.
Head to head
Matches - 3
Eng Won - 2
Afg Won - 1
Afg Probable XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman/Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqui
Eng Probable XI: Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith(wk), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler(wk), Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood.