Afghanistan will square off against Australia in the 10th match of the ongoing Champions Trophy at the Gadaffi Stadium, Lahore on Friday.
“What happened in the World Cup, T20 World Cup, and [now], I say this to the players: Afghanistan’s never going to be taken lightly ever again,” Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott said after Afghanistan stunned England by eight runs. “In the past, perhaps people would have seen the fixture and thought it was a little bit easier than playing a historic Test nation.
“But in this format, in these conditions, I don’t see that. I see every game that we play is going to be competitive and every game we go into I expect to win. Australia aren’t going to take us lightly.”
Trot’s comments show that there is confidence in the dressing room and Afghanistan will be fired up when they meet Australia. It will be a must-win contest for both these teams in order to qualify for the semifinals.
Stats Preview:
Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi needs 85 runs to complete 2500 runs in ODIs.
Mohammad Nabi needs nine fours to complete 250 boundaries in ODIs.
Rahmat Shah needs 36 runs to complete 4000 runs in ODIs.
Rashid Khan needs one wicket to complete 200 scalps in ODI format. He also needs one six to reach 50 maximums.
Azmatullah Omarzai needs 34 runs to reach the 1000-run mark in ODIs.
Glenn Maxwell needs 17 runs to reach the 4000-run mark in the 50-over version.
Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Ikram Alikhil, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Farid Malik, Naveed Zadran.
Australia: Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa.
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