Credit: ICC
England captain Jos Buttler acknowledged Josh Inglis’ knock after his team’s five-wicket loss against Australia in the Champions Trophy 2025 game, held in Lahore on February 22. However, Buttler also said that the dew factor intervened and neutralised his team’s chances in the contest. Batting first after losing the toss, the English side racked up a massive total of 351 runs in their 50 overs. Ben Duckett played a 165-run knock off 143 deliveries and became the player with the highest individual score in Champions Trophy history.
Following the colossal target, the Aussies lost their crucial top-order batters Travis Head and Steven Smith early but opener Matthew Short and Marnus Labuschagne kept Australia’s hopes alive with their knocks of 63 (66) and 47 (45) respectively. After the departure of both batters, Alex Carey and Inglis dominated England and took the game close for their team. Inglis stayed at the crease until the end and took Australia home with his unbeaten 120 off just 86. Veteran Glenn Maxwell also chipped in with his unbeaten 32 off 15.
After the game, Buttler was seen blaming the changing conditions in Lahore as he felt Australia’s task got easy after dew appeared on the surface. "A fantastic game, both sides played well, credit to Australia. It was a fantastic innings from Inglis. 350 is a pretty good score, but it was wet and the dew was a worry,” remarked the England skipper.
“I probably would have batted first. It’s 50/50 whether the dew comes in or not, we’ll look to make good use of the surface. We’re not trying to hide anything, we’re confident in the set up. The guys seem in a good place and anytime you play Australia it’s a big event,” added the 34-year-old.
England will have to beat Afghanistan on February 26 to stay alive in the tournament
After failing against their arch-rivals Australia in Lahore, England will face Afghanistan on February 26 at the same venue. The Afghan side will go into the contest after losing their opening match against South Africa by a heavy margin of 107 runs in Karachi on February 21.
England will be wary of Afghanistan as the Asian side stunned them in the World Cup 2023 match, played in Delhi. In the crucial game, the Afghan team vanquished the World Cup 2019 champions by 69 runs. For both sides, the upcoming match will be do-or-die as the losing team will be almost eliminated from the tournament.
