Sediqullah 85 ,Omarzai 67 lifts Afghanistan to 273 against Australia

LAHORE: Sediqullah Atal’s half century and Azmatullah Omarzai’s blitz powered Afghanistan to 273 against Australia in the crucial encounter of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday.

After opting to bat in overcast conditions, Afghanistan were bowled out on 273 in their allocated 50 overs.

Sediqullah Atal remained the top scorer with 85 off 95 balls, laced with half a dozen fours and three sixes.

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Although Mitchell Starc is not in the squad for the mult-nation tournament, Spencer Johnson delivered an identical perfect yorker like Starc on the fifth ball of the opening over to end Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s (0) short stay on the crease.

Following the wicket, came the centurion of the previous match, Ibrahim Zadran, who, along with Sediqullah Atal, forged a 67-run stand for the second wicket to lift Afghanistan to 70-2 in 13.3 overs.

Adam Zampa broke the crucial partnership with the wicket of Zadran (22). It was not too long for Australia to strike again as Rahmat Shah (12) was caught behind off Glenn Maxwell’s bowling after four overs.

But Sediqullah remained firm on the other end and scored a vital half-century. He added 68 68-run partnership with skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi, before being dismissed in the 31st over.

Wickets fell regularly for Afghanistan; at one stage, they were 199-7 in 39 overs. But Azmatullah Omarzai’s (67) blitz lower down the order took his team to a competitive total against a formidable Australian batting line-up.

His quick-fire innings off 63 balls featured five sixes and one four.

For Australia, Ben Dwarshuis remained the stand-out bowler with his figures of 3-47 in his ten overs. Spencer Johnson and Adam Zampa bagged two wickets apiece.

More to follow…

Playing XIs

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

Australia: Matthew Short, Travis Head, Steven Smith(c), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis, Alex Carey(w), Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson

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