The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 organisers were left red-faced when the Indian national anthem was mistakenly played before the Australia vs England Group B clash at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Saturday (February 22). The incident took place after Australia won the toss against England and opted to field first.
Just before the start of the match, the players were taken by surprise when the Indian national anthem was suddenly played before the organisers realised the blunder and stopped. The Australian fair was finally played at the iconic Gaddafi Stadium, which received a major facelift.
It is to be noted India aren’t playing any match in the tournament in Pakistan after the BCCI refused to send its team across borders due to security concerns. The Men in Blue are playing all their matches in Dubai, including the knockouts provided they qualify.
According to rules, in every International Cricket Council (ICC) tournament, the national anthems of both the teams are being played before the start of every match.
Meanwhile, England rode on Ben Duckett’s 165 runs to post a mammoth 351/8 in 50 overs. In fact, this was also the highest total by a team in the history of the ICC Champions Trophy. The previous highest was New Zealand’s 347/4 against USA in 2004 at The Oval.
