Courtesy: ICC/X
In the fourth game of the Champions Trophy 2025 between Australia and England at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium, the latter delivered a giant target of 352 runs to the former. Opener Ben Duckett, who was playing his debut game in ICC tournaments, played an extraordinary innings of 165 off 143 with 17 fours and three maximums. He was supported by Joe Root, who hit 68 off 78, and became the second-highest run-scorer for England. Following the gigantic target, the Men in Yellow were expecting their key players Travis Head and Steven Smith to produce responsible innings from their bats.
However, both star batters failed under pressure and threw their wickets. Head departed in the fourth over of the innings after getting caught and bold at the hands of pacer Jofra Archer while Smith followed him in the next over against speedster Mark Wood. Head scored six while Smith could accumulate only five runs. The flop shows of both batters received Team India fans’ attention as they wrote Head of being dominating against India only. Taking to X, a netizen with a username Third Man posted a picture of Head walking back towards the pavilion with a caption, “Travis Head is born only to smash India.”
Below are some of the reactions on X after Travis Head loses his wicket early:
Australia display fighting spirit after early blows
The Aussies have exhibited courage after losing their mainstay batters early. As of writing, Matt Short struck his second half-century and is currently on 57 off 54 with nine fours and a maximum, while Marnus Labuschagne has also accumulated 42 off 37 with five fours. Discussing the team total, the two-time title winners have amassed 114/2 in 17.1 overs.
With hard-hitters such as Glenn Maxwell, Alex Carey, and Josh Inglis behind, both batters will look to hold their nerves to help their team go close to the total. Australia haven’t won any game in the Champions Trophy after their famous 2009 title victory, but they will rely on both batters to pull off the score and record their first win in the ODI tournament after 16 years.
