ISLAMABAD: Sediqullah Atal’s resilient 95-ball 85 and Azmatullah Omarzai’s explosive 63-ball 67 powered Afghanistan to a total of 273 in their 10th match of the Champions Trophy against Australia at the newly renovated Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Friday.
Opting to bat first, Afghanistan started off shakily, losing three wickets for just 91 runs. However, they made a strong recovery, with Atal and Omarzai anchoring the innings, although they were eventually bowled out on the final delivery of their innings.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz once again failed to make an impact, departing for a duck. Ibrahim Zadran, who scored 177 in the previous match, couldn’t convert his innings into a big score, managing only 22 off 28 balls. Rahmat Shah followed soon after, contributing just 12 from 21 balls.
Afghan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi made a modest 20 from 49 balls, hitting just one boundary. Omarzai’s blistering knock included one boundary and five towering sixes.
The lower order collapsed, with Mohammad Nabi (1), Gulbadin Nabi (4), Rashid Khan (19), and Noor Ahmad (6) failing to offer much resistance. Fazalhaq Farooqi remained unbeaten on 1 from 1 ball.
For Australia, Ben Dwarshius was the standout bowler, taking 3 wickets for 47 runs. Adam Zampa (2-48) and Spencer Johnson (2-49) claimed two wickets each, while Glenn Maxwell (1-28) and Nathan Ellis (1-60) took one scalp each. Matthew Short (0-21) went wicketless.
