CT 2025: Toss delayed in Australia vs South Africa clash due to rain

The toss for the Group B Champions Trophy match between South Africa and Australia at Rawalpindi, has been delayed due to rain. The official X handle of South Africa Men's cricket team has confirmed, "Toss Delay : It's drizzling in Rawalpindi at the moment. The covers are on, and the toss has been delayed." Both the teams have won their opening games. Australia did the unthinkable by chasing a mammoth 352 against England.

On the other hand South Africa dominated Afghanistan by 107 runs. The Proteas are placed at the top of Group B, and Australia is in the second spot. South Africa captain Temba Bavuma isn't expecting a walk in the park against a pace-depleted Australian side. Australia entered the marquee event without its decorated pace trio featuring Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. Adding to that, the Baggy Greens were further impacted by Mitchell Marsh's injury and Marcus Stoinis taking a sudden retirement. Bavuma is wary of Australia and discarded the possibility of taking them lightly despite its lack of 'heavy artillery' for the much-anticipated affair.

"I mean, any Australian outfit that comes together for an ICC event is always one that you don't take lightly. Yes, they don't have, I guess, their mainstay bowling attack, but I think they still have enough to be successful as a team, like you mentioned with their batting. Maybe it could be a case of their batters maybe doing a little bit more than what they're accustomed to," Bavuma said in the pre-match press conference.

Wicketkeeper batter Alex Carey reckons Australia might need to put at least 400 runs on the board if they bat first against South Africa. Even though the 300-run mark has been breached just once in Rawalpindi in the past five matches, Carey is keen on putting up a high score, considering how Pakistan surfaces have played out throughout the tournament.

"We might need to make 400 if we bat first. I think it's always good to play one-day cricket when the scores are high. Being a part of it is a lot of fun. So, we'll wait and see how it looks in New Zealand and Bangladesh (match), but I expect throughout the tournament, there will be some pretty high scores, and if the dew does come in and set onto the ground, it can be quite hard to defend," Carey said in the pre-match press conference.

Australia Champions Trophy squad: Steve Smith (C), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa

South Africa Champions Trophy squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Corbin Bosch, Tony de Zorzi, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, and Rassie van der Dussen. (ANI)