Ibrahim Zadran starred with a hundred and Azmatullah Omarzai took a five-wicket haul as Afghanistan knocked England out of the Champions Trophy with an eight-run win on Wednesday at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The Afghans beat England by 69 runs in the ODI World Cup match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, and this time around, they showed their opponents the door to elimination.
Joe Root scored his 17th ODI hundred, but it wasn’t enough for England to win. Afghanistan made a comeback after their heavy 107-run defeat to Temba Bavuma’s South Africa. After qualifying for the semis in the Men’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA last year, they will be looking to book a semi-final berth in another ICC event.
After opting to bat first, Afghanistan put up a huge score of 325 for seven on the back of Ibrahim’s sixth ODI hundred. They found themselves in a spot of bother after being reduced to 37 for three in 8.5 overs. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal and Rahmat Shah failed to enter double digits after Jofra Archer ran through their top order. But Ibrahim and skipper Hashmatullah Shahid restored sanity with a 103-run stand for the fourth wicket.
The duo gave the Afghans the much-needed platform they needed. Adil Rashid separated the duo in the 30th over after getting rid of Shahidi, who scored a patient 40 off 67. Ibrahim, in the meantime, got to his half-century off 65 balls, after which he racked up his hundred off 106 balls. Thereafter, Ibrahim broke Ben Duckett’s record for the highest individual score in Champions Trophy history, making 177 runs off 146 balls, laced with 12 fours and six sixes.
Azmatullah Omarzai used the long handle to good effect, scoring a quick-fire 41 off 31 balls. 40-year-old Mohammad Nabi brought forth all his experience to blast 40 off 24. Nabi and Ibrahim’s 121-run stand put the Afghans in a position of strength. Liam Livingstone picked up two wickets in the final over, but by then, the Afghans had already gone way past the 300-run mark.
England got off to a rough start in their run-chase, losing Phil Salt and Jamie Smith with 30 on the board in 6.1 overs. Ben Duckett (38) and Joe Root built some momentum with a 68-run partnership before Rashid Khan trapped Duckett in front using the DRS. Harry Brook threatened with his 25-run knock before Nabi dismissed him, caught and bowled.
