Lahore, Feb 22: In a major blunder ahead of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy match between Australia and England at the Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday, the Indian national anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ was played instead of ‘Advance Australia Fair’ (Australia's national anthem).

As has been the case in ICC events, national anthems of both teams are played before the commencement of every match. After England’s national anthem, ‘God Save The King’ was played, it was supposed to be followed by ‘Advance Australia Fair’.

But to everyone’s surprise at the venue, the Indian national anthem was played for two seconds, before the mistake was rectified immediately and ‘Advance Australia Fair’ was played. It led to a huge backlash from cricket enthusiasts on social media, who couldn’t stop themselves from laughing over this big blunder.

The national anthem blunder ahead of the Australia-England game is something which the host body Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) will have to explain in due course of time, as well as the action they will take against the concerned people.

Coming to the match, Australia captain Steve Smith won the toss and elected to bowl first against England in their first Group B game of the eight-team tournament. Both teams came into Saturday’s match on the back of ODI series defeats in the subcontinent. While England suffered a 3-0 loss in India, Australia lost both of its ODIs in Colombo to Sri Lanka, a side who aren't part of the ongoing Champions Trophy.

Both England and Australia need at least two wins from their Group B matches, also featuring South Africa and Afghanistan, to progress to the semifinals of the Champions Trophy. The two sides last met in ODIs last year in England, with Australia winning the series 3-2.

(IANS)

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