Australia is the number 2 team in the ICC ODI rankings. Afghanistan is number 8. Australia also has an absolute dominance in the past head-to-head record. They have won four of the four matches. As such, Australia is not only the favorite in the match between the two teams today, but the absolute favorite! However, the way Afghanistan has twisted England in the previous match, the days of calling them ‘pucks’ are over! Australia will not be able to say ‘we will win’ with our hands on our chest.

Australia got a good sense of what Afghans are like in the last ODI World Cup. In that match held in Mumbai, Australia lost their way by losing 7 wickets for 91 runs in response to the Afghans’ 291 runs. Just when everyone thought that the Afghans would no longer be able to defend the Ajits today, Glenn Maxwell stood against the tide and played a superhuman unbeaten innings of 201* runs. Australia snatched the match in hand. Will Hashmatullah Shahidi forget that memory?

After defeating England the night before, the Afghanistan captain has decided what to do – he wants to defeat Australia this time. And if he does that, Afghanistan will kill two birds with one stone – they will defeat Australia for the first time in ODIs, and they will also advance to the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy. So the Afghans’ next goal is to defeat Australia.