The whole world will be glued to their screens as the Afghanistan men take on Australia at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore today. Hashmatullah Shahidi’s side are on the brink of history as they look to qualify for the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy if they can beat the Aussies today.
However, Afghanistan’s hopes face two challenges: an Australian side who have shown that they are not to be taken lightly, and the weather conditions in Lahore.
Two matches in the tournament have already been washed out due to rain – Australia vs South Africa and Pakistan vs Bangladesh. With rain forecast for today’s game, things don’t look too good for the Afghans.
Lahore weather report:
According to Accuweather, there is a 34% chance of rain in Lahore by 11am today. However, the good news is that the forecast improves as the day progresses, dropping to 29% by 12pm, 20% by 1pm and 13% by 6pm.
Social media posts suggest there was rain in Lahore overnight, so ground staff may have a bit of work to do, but if this forecast holds, we could be in for a great game.
An evenly matched contest awaits:
Afghanistan have long been considered the underdogs of world cricket, but their victory over England showed that the Asian side are no longer to be taken lightly. Afghanistan were firing on all cylinders as a team in the last match, with Ibrahim Zadran providing the impetus with a brilliant 177-run knock, Azmatullah Omarzai shining with his 5-wicket haul and skipper Shahidi managing his resources brilliantly.
Meanwhile, Australia are also missing the services of many key players, including full-time skipper Pat Cummins, pacers Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, and all-rounders Marcus Stoinis (early retirement) and Mitchell Marsh.
Australia’s pace attack is weak, sharing just 58 wickets between them, and their middle-order batting can be exploited by the opposition, setting up a thrilling contest in Lahore today.
