Pakistan(National Times)- LAHORE: Afghanistan have won the toss and opted to bat first against England in the group match of the ongoing Champions Trophy 2025.  The clash, which is a must-win match, is taking place at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium. Afghanistan, who are making their first appearance in the prestigious tournament, also had an unwanted start to their maiden campaign as they suffered a 107-run defeat against South Africa. Meanwhile, the Englishmen — who are the 2019 ODI World Cup champions — also had a forgetful start to their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign as they suffered a gruelling five-wicket defeat at the hands of arch-rivals Australia on Saturday at the same venue. Despite setting a mammoth total of 351 on the board, England ended up on the losing side as their bowling unit was dominated by the Australian wicketkeeper duo of Josh Inglis and Alex Carey. After the abandonment of the Group B fixture between Australia and South Africa, England now need to win both of their remaining group-stage matches to progress further in the eight-team tournament, while Afghanistan’s road to the semi-final has become tougher.

Playing XIs

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi.

England: Philip Salt, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith(w), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler(c), Liam Livingstone, Jofra Archer, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.