England Set Mammoth 352 For Australia To Win Champions Trophy Match
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Lahore: A 158-run partnership for the third wicket between Ben Duckett and Joe Root was vital in driving England to a mammoth total and setting Australia a target of 352 runs in the fourth match of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 at the Gaddafi Stadium here on Saturday evening.
Ben Duckett, 165 off 143 balls – the highest individual score of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 so far – was the mainstay of the England innings and played the sheet-anchor role to take his team to a total past 300 runs in a crucial match to gain ascendency in Group B.
Duckett and Root got together when England lost two wickets in quick succession with the total at 43 in 5.2 overs, after they were asked to bat first by Australia, who won the toss.
Phil Salt and Jamie Smith played identical quick knocks but fell cheaply to Ben Dwarshuis. Phil Salt scored 10 off six balls, including a boundary and a six, while Jamie Smith hit three boundaries in an innings of 15 runs off 13 balls.
Duckett and Root steadied the England innings from the early scare and took their ship to safe waters with a big partnership of 158 runs off 154 balls before Joe Root fell for 68 off 78 balls. His innings was marked by caution as he hit only four boundaries and helped England gain dominance.
Ben Duckett scored his 50 off 49 balls, while Joe Root hit fifty off 56 balls. They reached the hundred-run partnership in 96 balls. Duckett brought up the 100-run partnership with back-to-back fours off Zampa on the last two balls of the 21st over of the England innings.
The lean patch for Harry Brook continued in the Champions Trophy, as he could score only 3 (6) runs before misreading a Zampa leg-break and giving Carey the third consecutive catch of the innings at point.
No other English batter could make a major contribution, as Jos Buttler (23 off 21), Liam Livingstone (14 off 17), and Brydon Carse (8 off 7) were the other contributors. Jofra Archer (21 off 10) and Adil Rashid (1 off 1) remained unbeaten.
The bowlers toiled on the batting-friendly, somewhat placid Gaddafi stadium pitch as Australia used seven bowlers. If there was any juice left in the soil, it was exploited by Dwarshuis, while the rest was blown away by the benevolent February sun on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
It rained in Lahore on Thursday, and the decision to field first by Australian captain Steve Smith might have been tempted by the comparatively low temperatures over the past two days in Lahore.
Australia played three fast bowlers, including Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, and Johnson Spencer, with one specialist spinner in Adam Zampa. All-rounder Glenn Maxwell served as the fifth bowler, while Matthew Short could also bowl gentle off-breaks.
Matthew Short bowled only one over, while Marnus Labuschagne claimed two scalps, including the wicket of Ben Duckett for 41 runs.
Dwarshuis was the only successful pace bowler, claiming three wickets off his 10 overs for 66 runs, while Spencer Johnson and Nathan Ellis remained wicketless. Ellis conceded 51 runs off his 10 overs, while Spencer gave away 54 runs in the seven overs he bowled.
The spin-bowling quartet of Zampa, Maxwell, Livingstone, and Short bagged five wickets among them, with Adam Zampa and Livingstone claiming a brace. Maxwell conceded 58 runs for one wicket in seven overs.
