With Australia and England squaring off in the Champions Trophy 2025 match at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore currently, India's national anthem was played instead of Australia's. A video of the same has gone viral on social media, as the authorities stopped it soon and played Australia's anthem instead at the venue.
Injury-hit Australia and out-of-form England are opening their respective campaigns on Saturday in Lahore. The Men in Yellow have at least four first-choice players missing, including their captain Pat Cummins and the two other frontline fast bowlers in Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc. Moreover, Mitchell Marsh's back injury has put him out of the tournament.
They have also suffered consecutive ODI series defeats to Sri Lanka and Pakistan. England, meanwhile, have their own set of struggles as India whitewashed them 3-0 in an away series and have lost their last three ODI rubbers. While Jos Buttler and co. look good on paper, their execution must be spot on if they are to beat Australia.
Meanwhile, below is the video of the moment when India's anthem was played by mistake:
Australia strike early after Steve Smith wins toss and opts to bowl first
Meanwhile, the Men in Yellow have struck early and done it twice as left-arm seamer Ben Dwarshuis has dismissed Phil Salt (10) and Jamie Smith (15). Below are the playing XI for both sides for their opening game:
Australia playing XI: Matthew Short, Travis Head, Steven Smith (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Spencer Johnson.
England playing XI: Philip Salt, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith (wk), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c), Liam Livingstone, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.
