Afghanistan v Australia Champions Trophy tips & odds | Feb 28

Afghanistan vs Australia best bets

Champions Trophy 2025: Afghanistan vs Australia preview

With a spot in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy semi-finals on the line, it’s a must-win game for both Afghanistan and Australia this Friday in Lahore.

Afghanistan pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament on Wednesday night as they beat England by eight runs. Led by a monster 177 off 146 from opener Ibrahim Zadran, the Afghans set a strong total of 325 to win. With the ball, opener Azmatullah Omarzai tore through the English batting lineup, taking 5/58 to inspire his side to a famous win.

As a result, Afghanistan are still alive in this tournament, sitting third in the group behind South Africa and Australia. Still, they enter this clash as $4 outsiders at Bet365, with the Aussies paying short odds of $1.25 to win.

Australia’s clash with South Africa was rained off on Tuesday night without a ball bowled. After an opening-game win against England, Australia’s easiest way to progress is still with a win, but they have the added safety of going through if weather intervenes once again.

Nevertheless, Australia will be looking to win strongly in order to surpass South Africa’s net run rate and thus avoid facing India in the semi-finals.

Light rain is predicted in Lahore but shouldn’t impact the game too much, as it is expected to clear by the afternoon. The Gaddafi Stadium pitch has been a batsman’s paradise this year, with seven out of eight totals at the venue clearing 300 runs.

Afghanistan vs Australia team news

Afghanistan have used the same side in both of their matches so far at the 2025 Champions Trophy, so don’t expect much change after their win over England.

Projected Afghanistan 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.

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Similarly, Australia aren’t expected to make many changes, but they may look to tweak their bowling attack with the likes of Sean Abbott and Tanveer Sangha waiting in the wings.

Projected Australia XI: Matt Short, Travis Head, Steve Smith (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson.

Afghanistan vs Australia betting picks

While Afghanistan’s efforts against England were impressive, beating this Australian team is a different story. The Aussie batting lineup is very strong, so expect them to exploit the weak Afghan pace attack. While Australia offer little value at $1.25 with top cricket bookmakers, they should be a safe bet in this clash.

Coming off his impressive 177 against England, Ibrahim Zadran is clearly the biggest threat in this Afghanistan batting lineup. He has cleared 50 in three of his last six innings, while he scored 129 not out when these countries last met in 2023. Facing a weakened Australian pace lineup, back Zadran to continue his good form with 50 or more runs at $3.25 with major sports betting sites.

Steve Smith is the player to watch in the Australian lineup. While his ODI form is unimpressive, the stand-in skipper has been in strong form in Test and T20 cricket, so a big score might not be far away. As an excellent player of both spin and pace, back Smith to return to form with 50 or more runs at $2.50 with leading online bookies.

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