Afghanistan are on a mission to make things count in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. After suffering a heavy defeat in their Group B opener against South Africa, the Afghanistan cricket team claimed a superb win against England on Wednesday. The record win helped them keep their hopes alive to reach the last 4 of the tournament. On the other hand, they eliminated England from the competition.

On February 28, Afghanistan take on Australia in a do-or-die clash. A win for the Afghans will see them make the cut for the semis.

Australia, who have three points from two matches, will need England to beat South Africa and hope NRR comes in their favour to make it through. If Australia win, they will reach the last 4 and Afghanistan will be knocked out. So this game is of utmost importance.

In terms of the head-to-head, Australia have a clean 100% win record over Afghanistan. They have claimed 4 wins out of 4 meetings. The last meeting came in the ODI World Cup 2023, where Glenn Maxwell single-handedly helped Australia pull off a defining chase.

Ahead of the crunch clash between the two teams, here we present the key player battles.

Spencer Johnson vs Rahmanullah Gurbaz

Australian pacer Spencer Johnson will vie it out against his Kolkata Knight Riders teammate Rahmanullah Gurbaz. The Aussie left-arm pacer is still new in ODIs and had a poor outing against England. Gurbaz, who is a mainstay of Afghanistan’s batting, is yet to fire for his side in the ongoing tourney. So, this is a battle of opportunities and hopefuls.

Johnson, who will open the bowling, averages 44.50 in the power play overs (1-10). Across 4 innings, he owns two scalps. His economy rate is 5.93.

On the other hand, Afghan opener Gurbaz owns 746 runs from 46 innings in the 1st 10 overs, averaging 27.62. His strike rate is 79.19. He has been dismissed 27 times.

Meanwhile, Gurbaz averages a neat 47.28 against left-handed pacers in ODIs. From 25 innings, he owns 331 runs (7 dismissals). On the other hand, Spencer averages a dismal 119 against right-handed batters. He has one dismissal and has conceded 119 runs from 109 balls across 4 innings.

Azmatullah Omarzai vs Steve Smith

Fresh from a record-breaking fifer for Afghanistan against England, pace all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai will want to rattle Aussie skipper Steve Smith with his variations on display.

The former was decisive in his side’s win against England and got important wickets. Smith had a poor outing against England earlier and will hope to bounce back.

Across 37 innings, Omarzai has dismissed right-handed batters on 21 occasions at 36.04. Batters own a strike rate of 87.61 against him. In Asia, his average against right-handed batters read 38.61 from 31 innings (18 dismissals).

On the other hand, Smith owns 3020 runs at 43.14 versus right-handed pacers from 142 innings.

He has been dismissed 70 times. Digging deep, Smith’s average reads 37.06 versus right-handed pacers in Asia. Across 32 innings, he has been dismissed 15 times. He owns 556 runs in this regard.

Rashid Khan vs Glenn Maxwell

Rashid Khan hasn’t been in the best of form in the ongoing tourney. He has leaked runs and across two games only one wicket has been claimed by him. Rashid, who is nearing 200 ODI scalps, will have his task cut out against Glenn Maxwell. The latter played an aggressive 15-ball 32* versus England and he remains a big threat with his attributes in finishing.

In a solitary inning, Rashid has conceded 26 runs off 26 balls against Maxwell without dismissing the latter.

Against right-handed batters, Rashid averages 19.69. From 106 innings, he has claimed a total of 143 scalps. In Asia, his average reads 21.07 versus right-handers from 66 innings (89 scalps).

Maxwell has amassed 459 runs at 45.90 against right-arm leg-spinners, being dismissed 10 times from 43 innings. In Asia, Maxwell averages 38.20 against right-arm leg-spinners from 17 innings (5 dismissals). He has struck at 106.70.

Adam Zampa vs Rahmat Shah

Adam Zampa will hope to be decisive against Rahmat Shah in the upcoming clash. Zampa remains Australia’s main weapon in spin. He is a solid ODI customer. Meanwhile, Rahmat is a quality player of spin and will be banked upon to carry the Afghan batting.

Across 2 innings, Zampa has conceded 18 runs off 24 balls against Rahmat, averaging 18 (1 dismissal). 10 of these deliveries have been dot balls.

Overall, against right-handed batters in ODIs, Zampa has an average of 26.43. From 107 innings, he has managed to take 133 scalps. In Asia, he averages 22.85 versus right-handed batters from 42 innings (62 dismissals).

Rahmat owns a tally of 355 runs against right-handed leg-spinners in ODIs at 39.44. Across 31 innings, he has been dismissed nine times. In Asia, his average against right-arm leg spinners improved to 43.16. He owns 259 runs from 22 innings (6 dismissals).

Fazalhaq Farooqi vs Travis Head

Afghan right-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi would be keen to get the early scalp of Aussie opener Travis Head. In one of the highly enticing clashes, this battle will be fun to watch. Head, known for his aggression, can hand his side a rapid start. He is among the most destructive batters going around, and it would be interesting to see how he tackles Farooqi’s offerings early on.

As per SponneHead owns a stunning ODI average of 80.16 against left-arm fast bowlers. Across 30 innings, he has slammed 481 runs (6 dismissals). Meanwhile, Farooqi has posted an average of 29.36 versus left-handed batters. From 35 innings, he has managed to take 19 wickets.

In the first 10 overs (Powerplay), Farooqi averages 26.38 against lefties across 31 innings. He owns 13 dismissals.