Australia captain Steve Smith’s sportsman spirit during the side’s Champions Trophy 2025 match against Afghanistan on Friday has become a topic of discussion. On the final ball of the 47th over of the Afghanistan innings, Azmatullah Omarzai played a delivery to mid-wicket fielder and took a single. After completing the run, Noor Ahmad, who then reached the striker’s end, walked out of his crease without even wicketkeeper Josh Inglis collecting the ball from the fielder. As Noor left his crease before the throw arrived at striker’s end and the ball could be deemed dead, Inglis clipped off the bails after receiving the throw and appealed for a run-out.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Showing great sportsman spirit, Australia captain Steve Smith decided to withdraw the appeal. His act earned him a lot of praise from commentators and fans.
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Australia made it to the semi-finals of Champions Trophy after their last Group B match against Afghanistan in Lahore got washed out on Friday. It started raining during Australia’s chase and by the time it stopped, the ground got so wet that the staff failed to keep the umpires hopeful.
The abandonment saw Smith and co. share points with Afghanistan and move to four points, a mark that takes them to the next round. On the other hand, Afghanistan just have an outside chance. They will need England to beat South Africa by a huge margin to make it to the semi-finals.
Before the rain washed out the game, Travis Head scored a quickfire fifty (59 not out off 40) as Australia reached 109 for 1 in 12.5 overs in their chase of 274. It was Sediqullah Atal (85) and Azmatullah Omarzai’s (67) fighting fifties that helped Afghanistan post 273 all-out in 50 overs after opting to bat first. Ben Dwarshuis picked three wickets for 47 runs while Spencer Johnson and Adam Zampa also accounted for two wickets each.
“That’s what we were after in the start, to finish in the top two and qualify for the semis. I thought the guys did a good job, made good changes and took wickets in the middle. Did well to restrict them to 270 and we were in a good position. It was a good performance, shame the game was washed out,” said Smith after the game.
The captain also praised Travis Head for his quickfire knock. “He batted nicely, got lucky and then middled them well. Hope he can do it again in the semi-final. Guys have done a good job, they are excited so hope we can keep going in this tournament.”
from: NDTV Sports-Latest