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Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Spencer Johnson Photograph: (X)
Australia's young pacer Spencer Johnson's unbelievable delivery on the fifth ball of the first over leaves Afghanistan's star opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz stunned in the do-or-die game of the Champions Trophy 2025. The bowler delivered an unplayable yorker, which swung in late, deceiving the batter. He was late to bring in his bat and, hence, was bowled. For a moment, Gurbaz stood in disbelief but then returned to the pavilion with his head down as he scored a duck.
This is a forgettable tournament for Gurbaz so far, as he hasn't been impressive in any game. On the other hand, Johnson has been incredible in leading the bowling unit in the absence of Mitchell Johnson, Pat Cummins, and Josh Hazlewood. The stakes are high, and the Afghanistan batters will have to give it all in today's game to qualify for the semi-finals. Most importantly, they have the power to knock Australia out of the tournament.
@W
WHAT A BALL TO GURBAZ BY SPENCER JOHNSON. 🤯🔥 pic.twitter.com/WVh5rqdhHu
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) February 28, 2025
The game started with Hasmatullah Shahidi choosing to bat first under overcast conditions. It wasn't a great move, as the pacers are getting much help from the weather conditions. Moreover, captain Steve Smith mentioned that he would have bowled first, so it was a win-win situation for the Aussies.
The wickets look good: Shahidi
Afghanistan captain Hasmatullah Shahidi mentioned during the toss that the pitch looks good but has the chance of slowing down in the second half. Plus, he was quite certain that the team would not be repeating the same mistakes that they did against England.
"The wickets looks good, it's a used pitch, England and Australia already played on this pitch so it will slow down in the second half and hopefully, our spinners will come into play. We were happy with the performance in our last game, we also have made plans against Australia and hopefully, we can rectify the mistakes we made against England," said Hasmatullah Shahidi.