ISLAMABAD, Feb 22: Ben Duckett’s ton and Joe Root’s fifty made their team firm against Australia with 268 runs in 40 overs in the fourth group-stage clash of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday.
Duckett raced to his century while Root departed after scoring 68 runs.
The English side’s Phil Salt made an aggressive start in the opening over, striking a boundary and a towering six.
However, his stay at the crease was cut short in the following over after a stunning one-handed catch by Australia’s Alex Carey. The two wickets that fell so far were picked by Ben Dwarshuis.
At the 10-over mark, Jos Buttler’s men stood at 72-2, with Steve Smith’s Australian side keeping the pressure on early in the innings.
Earlier, Australia won the toss and opted to field first against their long-time rivals, England, in this high-stakes encounter.
Notably, the Kangaroos have had major injury concerns and top retirements ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025, and have gone with both wicket-keeper batters in their playing XI. As a result, onus will be on Steve Smith to guide the team to glory.
Playing XIs:
Australia: Steve Smith (captain), Travis Head, Matthew Short, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis, Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa and Spencer Johnson.
England: Jos Buttler (captain), Ben Duckett, Phil Salt, Jamie Smith, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Brydon Carse, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer and Mark Wood.
Umpires: Chris Gaffaney (NZL) and Joel Wilson (WIS).
TV umpire: Kumar Dharmasena (SRI).
Match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM).
