Australia beat England by five wickets in the fourth match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 on Saturday (February 22) at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The reigning world champions have opened their account in the Group B points table and occupy the second position behind South Africa.

After being asked to bat first on a flat track, England notched up a mammoth total of 351/8 in 50 overs. Opener Ben Duckett starred for them with the bat, playing a magnificent knock of 165 (143), the highest individual score in Champions Trophy history. Left-arm pacer Ben Dwarshuis picked up three wickets for Australia in the bowling department.

Josh Inglis (120*), Matthew Short (63), Alex Carey (69), Marnus Labuschagne (47), and Glenn Maxwell (32*) then performed collectively in the batting line-up to power Australia home to 356/5 in 47.3 overs and win the match. It is the biggest-ever successful chase across all ICC tournaments.

Fans enjoyed the high-scoring contest between the two teams on Saturday and reacted by sharing memes on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. One of the memes about Travis Head read:

“No Rohit Sharma, No Fun”

“I thought 350 was chaseable”- Australia captain Steve Smith after victory vs England in 2025 Champions Trophy clash

At the post-match presentation, Australia skipper Steve Smith reflected on the win and said:

“I thought the guys were outstanding from the outset. Travis and I were the only ones to miss out (laughs) and the middle order did a fantastic job. Regardless of what team we have, we would have bowled first. We knew dew would play a role. It looked like they would get 400, but it slowed up in the end in the first innings, and I thought 350 was chaseable.”

He continued:

“The boys did a good job with the ball and controlled the back end by mixing it up. The two keepers have been batting beautifully for a while now. Josh hits the ball all along the ground and has all the shots. It was a top effort from Inglis and also Alex with a brilliant hand.”

India and Pakistan will lock horns in the fifth match of the 2025 Champions Trophy on Sunday (February 23) at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.