Preview: Afghanistan were outplayed by South Africa in the last game with both bat and the ball. The only positive the Afghans had in the match was the gritty knock (90) from Rahmat Shah, courtesy of which the Asian side were in the hunt during the run chase at some stage. On the other hand, England’s batting showed promise as they posted a massive 350+ total on the board against Australia. However, their bowling attack came under the scanner as they failed to defend the massive total. Opener Ben Duckett went on to enter the record books with the highest individual score (165) in the Champions Trophy history. They will want to come back stronger against the tournament debutants in the upcoming game.
ICC Champions Trophy 2025, 8th ODI Match, AFG vs ENG
Venue: Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
Date & Time: Wednesday, February 26, 02:30 PM
Pitch Report: The last game played at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium saw over 700 runs scored in a game. The wicket was very flat and the batters enjoyed scoring runs in the game. The surface did not seem to change much as the game progressed. Hence this should be a good enough reason for the captains to win the toss and bowl first on this track.
PROBABLE PLAYING XI
Afghanistan (AFG)- Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hasmatullah Shahidi ©, Azmatullah Omarzai, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Noor Ahmad.
England (ENG)- Phil Salt, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith (wk), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler ©, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.
