Afghanistan and Australia vie for Champions Trophy semi-finals spot: Match Preview

As the race for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 semi-finalls heats up, Afghanistan and Australia are all set to meet in what’s effectively a quarter-final – the winner will qualify for the final four.

This pair have met in some gripping recent encounters in ICC events, adding even more spice to this contest.

At the 2023 Men's Cricket World Cup, a Glenn Maxwell classic helped Australia across the line. Afghanistan would pull one back against the Aussies at last year's Men's T20 World Cup in another thriller.

Both sides scraped home for wins against England, so how will they stack up?

Coach Trott lauds ‘resilient’ Afghanistan as focus shifts to Australia showdown

Squads:

Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Ikram Alikhil, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar, 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

How to watch the ICC Champions Trophy 2025

Recent form:

Afghanistan: The form has been mixed, but Afghanistan will enter their match with Australia filled with confidence, after getting the better of England on Wednesday. That came after a 107-run loss to South Africa in their opening tournament fixture. Before the Champions Trophy, Afghanistan proved worthy qualifiers by winning their four most recent bilateral series against Ireland, South Africa, Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe.

Australia: The Aussies launched their tournament campaign with a theatrical win over England, before their huge showdown with South Africa was abandoned due to the rain. Australia entered the Champions Trophy in shaky form, out-played in a two-game series in Sri Lanka, going down 2-0. The team is attempting to make a deep push without world class bowling trio Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazelwood, who are all unavailable for various reasons.

Players in focus:

Afghanistan: Ibrahim Zadran

It’s impossible to look past Afghanistan’s star opening batter, after his enormous 177 off 146 balls to steer his team to victory over England. While their batting lineup has filled out in recent years, there’s no question that Ibrahim remains a cornerstone figure in their team. Australia’s bowling attack is light on experience and this matchup looms as pivotal.

Australia: Spencer Johnson

Given how vital top order runs are for Afghanistan, who will most likely end up batting first given both team’s noted preferences, Australia’s opening quicks could carve out their path to a victory. After 0/54 off seven overs against England, Johnson will be desperate to hone in and change his fortunes here, particularly targeting the wicket of the aforementioned Ibrahim.

How to watch:

India: JioStar (Live streaming on Jio Hotstar, Television coverage on Star and Network 18 channels)

Pakistan: PTV and Ten Sports, Streaming options: Myco and Tamasha app

UAE and MENA: CricLife Max and CricLife Max2, Streaming option: STARZPLAY

UK: Live broadcasting on Sky Sports Cricket, Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Action, Digital coverage via SkyGO, NOW and Sky Sports App

USA and Canada: WillowTV, Streaming on Willow by Cricbuzz app (Hindi coverage available)

Caribbean: ESPNCaribbean on TV, Streaming via ESPN Play Caribbean app

Australia: PrimeVideo (coverage available in Hindi too)

New Zealand: Sky Sport NZ, digital coverage via Now and SkyGo app.

South Africa and sub-Saharan territories: SuperSport and SuperSport App

Bangladesh: Nagorik TV and T Sports for linear broadcast, digital via Toffee app

Afghanistan: ATN

Sri Lanka: Maharaja TV (TV1 on Linear), Digital via Sirasa

The games can also be viewed on ICC.tv (In select territories)