Australian seamer Spencer Johnson delivered a cracking inswinging yorker to clean up Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the crucial Champions Trophy 2025 clash at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Gurbaz, who is yet to fire in the tournament, endured yet another failure and waited a moment before walking back to the pavilion distraught.
The dismissal occurred in the very first over of the innings as the southpaw sent down at a speed of 141 mph and shaped up late to beat the defences of Gurbaz, cleaning him up for a five-ball duck. Having struggled in the game against England in Lahore, giving away 54 runs in seven overs without a wicket, the scalp of the right-hander will have given plenty of relief to the youngster.
Below is the video of the same:
Afghanistan opt to bat first after winning the toss
Meanwhile, the toss fell in favour of Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi and opted to bat first, citing it's a used surface and expects it to get slower as the game progresses. Meanwhile, Steve Smith said he was happy to bowl first due to the dew and weather factor.
Afghanistan playing XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Australia playing XI: Matthew Short, Travis Head, Steven Smith (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson
Afghanistan sneaked home against England by eight runs at the same venue and Australia beat England by five wickets. However, Australia's game against South Africa was washed out.
