Josh Inglis' magnificent ton propels Australia to victory over England in Champions Trophy thriller

Defending ODI World Cup champions Australia showcased their class with a five wickets victory over arch-rivals England in their opening match of the 2025 Champions Trophy at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, on Saturday. With this victory, Australia also became the first team in the history of the ICC ODI tournaments to complete a chase of 350-plus and also broke Pakistan’s record of 345 runs against Sri Lanka in the 2023 ODI World Cup.

Chasing a daunting target of 352, Australia found themselves in trouble after losing four wickets. However, a brilliant partnership between Josh Inglis (12o*) and Alex Carey (69) in the middle overs steadied the innings. Inglis led the charge with a magnificent century, ensuring Australia successfully chased down the massive total. Matthew Short (63) and Marnus Labuschagne (47) also contributed in the middle overs.

Earlier, England’s Ben Duckett delivered a batting masterclass, scoring 165 off 143 balls to propel his team to an imposing 351/8 after being invited to bat first. With this knock, Duckett became the first-ever batter in Champions Trophy history to score 150 or more in a single innings.


Brief Scores:

England: 351 for 8 in 50 overs (Ben Duckett 165, Joe Root 68; Ben Dwarshuis 3/66, Adam Zampa 2/64, Marnus Labuschagne 2/41).

Australia: 356 for 5 in 47.3 overs (Josh Inglis 120 not out, Liam Livingstone 1/47).