At the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Australian speedster Spencer Johnson made an early impression in the pivotal Group B match against Afghanistan in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was dismissed for a five-ball duck by the left-arm pacer with a beautiful in-swinging yorker.
Given that Afghanistan and Australia are vying for a berth in the semi-finals, the match is almost a knockout win for both sides. With a washout match against South Africa, the Steve Smith-led team leads the rankings by a slim margin, while Afghanistan has to win to maintain their aspirations. After winning the toss, Hashmatullah Shahidi decided to bat first in an attempt to score runs.
In the opening over of the match, Johnson took the wicket while bowling first. Although the over got out to a somewhat shaky start with a few leg-byes and a wide, the speedster’s delivery on the fifth ball of the over was absolutely brilliant.
Johnson hit the right-handed hitter with a 141 kph delivery that swung in late and slipped past the Afghan batter’s defense as he came over the wicket.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz unable to bring his bat down in time because to the late movement and velocity, causing the ball to crash into the off-stump.
On-air commentator Ian Smith characterized it as a “Mitchell Starc-like” performance. Gurbaz’s dismal batting performance continued immediately after, as he only managed to score 16 runs in the final two innings.
Spencer Johnson nails the yorker to clean up Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the first over 🎯
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Australia has already taken the first three wickets in less than 20 overs, while the Afghan team has yet to reach the 100-run milestone. It will be intriguing to watch who can handle the pressure and come out on top as both teams compete for a position in the semi-final.
India
