Credit: X
In the 10th game of the Champions Trophy 2025 between Australia and Afghanistan in Lahore, Sediqullah Atal hit his second ODI fifty and rescued his team after a poor start. Batting first after winning the toss, Afghanistan lost Rahmanullah Gurbaz early in the first over of the contest. Spencer Johnson handed the early blow to the Afghan side as Gurbaz got cleaned up on the fifth ball and went back to the dugout with a duck. Ibrahim Zadran and Atal built a 67-run partnership off 76 balls and stabilised Afghanistan’s innings.
Adam Zampa got rid of Zadran in the 14th over and delivered the second breakthrough to his side. Following Zadran, Rahmat Shah also departed after scoring only 12 off 21. Despite the fall of wickets, Atal looked unfazed and completed his fifty off 64 balls. On the first delivery of Maxwell’s sixth over, Atal clobbered a maximum to complete his second ODI half-century in style. Impressed by Sediqullah’s knock, an X user named Raaj Masoom wrote, “Fifty for Sediqullah Atal with a master blaster six #AUSvsAFG #AFGvsAUS”.
Sediqullah continued his onslaught on the Aussies after going past fifty
Sediqullah looked more aggressive with his bat after crossing his fifty, hitting a few more big shots in his innings. The 23-year-old ulitmately lost his wicket to Johnson after hitting superb 85 off 95. His innings was studded with six fours and three maximums. As of writing, Afghanistan are 159/4 in 31.3 overs. Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi is unbeaten on 16 off 39, while Azmatullah Omarzai has just walked into the middle.
Moreover, Afghanistan have never beaten Australia in ODIs and the Asian side will have to get the better of them to reach the knockout stage of the tournament. In the 50-overs format, both teams clashed with each other four times with the Aussies emerging victorious on all occasions.
