At the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Saturday, February 22, Australia and England faced battle in the fourth match of the current Champions Trophy 2025. Star starter Travis Head took the field during the second innings. After Ben Duckett cleared the path with his magnificent hundred against a strong lineup, the Australians were given a goal of 352 runs.
Duckett’s opponent Head had the responsibility of turning the tide with a strong start to the chase, but Jofra Archer, an express pacer, ended Head’s intentions with a spectacular catch on the opening ball of the fourth over.
Travis Head struck the ball hard, and it would be unrealistic to expect the bowler to even slow the ball’s pace.
In England’s target defense against their rivals, Archer not only retained the ball better but also managed to get his hands on it and force an early dismissal.
With just six runs off five balls during his brief stint at the crease, the Southpaw was forced to return to the pavilion at a very low cost.
Jofra Archer takes down Travis Head, and Australia is in trouble early on!#ChampionsTrophyOnJioStar 👉 🇦🇺 🆚 🏴, LIVE NOW on Star Sports 2, Sports 18-1 & JioHotstar! pic.twitter.com/mBy0HsfMUJ
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) February 22, 2025
As Steven Smith does, one brings two.
Australia needed their new captain, Steven Smith, to calm things down and prevent the dismissal from adding to the team’s pressure shortly after Head was removed. But he also failed, giving a straightforward catch in the slip cordon after an outside edge off Smith’s blade was impacted by Mark Wood’s ball in the next over. Duckett kept having a great time in the field, grabbing the ball with ease and putting the Australian captain back in the hunt.
At the conclusion of the first innings, seasoned batsman Joe Root was content with the goal the Englishmen had set. After applauding Duckett’s knock and contributing with a steady half-century of his own, the batter ultimately decided that he wanted to roll his arm over with the ball in hand and help them keep Australia behind the finish line.
“The wicket was kept low and was fairly sluggish. We were giving ourselves a decent chance to score well on that surface by the way we were scoring. That seems to be the case. At the half, we are happy, but we still need to perform with the ball. Excellent (during Duckett’s innings). The way he played throughout, switching between different gears and pacing it, was superb. challenging to bowl to. “I hope we can take advantage of that,” he stated at the mid-innings break.
Maintaining the stumps in play, nice and straight, with minor changes, seems to be the key to bowling here. We need to be aggressive during the powerplay and attempt to make it hard for them to acquire the timing and use the center of the wicket as soon as the ball stops swinging. (On his bowling) I’ve been working hard, and I’m hoping to get a chance today,” he added.
India
