Australia unchanged for must-win clash with Afghanistan

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Australia unchanged for must-win clash with Afghanistan

Australia have lost the toss and will bowl first in their must-win Champions Trophy clash with Afghanistan at Gaddafi Stadium in Pakistan.

The match shapes as a virtual quarter-final for the two sides, and Australia have named an unchanged XI from the team that beat England by five wickets.

Australia sit second in Group B after that win was followed by a washed-out game against South Africa.

Afghanistan, who lost to South Africa by 107 runs in their opener, bounced back with an eight-run victory over England.

The winner of the Australia-Afghanistan match is guaranteed a spot in the semi-finals.

If Australia lose, they would need England to post a massive win over South Africa in order to leapfrog the Proteas on net run-rate.

India and New Zealand have already secured the semi-final berths from Group A.

Australia captain Steve Smith said he would have elected to bowl first if he had won the toss.

“We’re not too unhappy to bowl,” Smith told Prime Video.

“It’s unpredictable whether there’s dew, I think that makes a big difference at the back end of the game.

“We’re looking forward to coming up against a good Afghanistan outfit.

“They played really well against England the other night. It should be a good contest.

“It’s a must-win for us. We will be coming out here with good intent, good aggression and taking the game on.”

Australia are aiming for a slice of revenge after their loss to Afghanistan in last year’s T20 World Cup effectively ended their title hopes.

When the two teams met at the 2023 ODI World Cup, Glenn Maxwell struck an unbeaten 201 off 128 ****** while battling cramp to lift Australia from 7-91 to the 294-run victory target.

AFGHANISTAN: Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi.

AUSTRALIA: Travis Head, Matt Short, Steven Smith (capt), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis, Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson.

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