Afghanistan is targeting another big scalp in the form of Australia after knocking England out of the Champions Trophy, with a semi-final spot the prize.
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The Champions Trophy debutants sent England crashing out of the 50-over tournament with a thrilling eight-run victory in Lahore on Wednesday.
Afghanistan similarly stunned then holders England at the 2023 World Cup in India.
They play world champions Australia at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Friday in their final group match and must win to reach the last four of the eight-nation tournament.
“Obviously a win like this boosts every team’s confidence and strengthens them,” Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi said.
“Our morale has increased even more.”
The skipper added: “The upcoming match will be crucial for both teams in the race for the semi-finals.
“Australia is a tough and good team. I have said this in previous conferences as well — that we came here to play good cricket.
“We will try to play a positive game. Just like we defeated England today, we hope to beat Australia as well.
“We won’t put that pressure on ourselves by thinking too much about the semi-final qualification.”
MATCH CENTRE: Australia vs Afghanistan ODI live scorecard
England knocked out of Champions Trophy | 01:25
Rain is forecast in Lahore and Australia will advance with a washout. That would keep Afghanistan in contention to reach the semi-finals, but they will then have to depend on other results or net run-rate.
Australia beat Ashes rivals England by five wickets in their opening match, then their game with South Africa was washed out without a ball being bowled.
Despite the uncertainty and rain also forcing them to train indoors, Australia batsman Marnus Labuschagne said his side were “ready to go”.
“I think most of our preparation sort of came before the tournament,” he said.
The Afghans will again enjoy strong support in Lahore but Labuschagne said that will only spur on Steve Smith’s team.
“We’d love to win tomorrow and silence the crowd and really put that on,” Labuschagne said.
The must-win ODI between Afghanistan and Australia gets underway at 8pm AEDT.
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