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England Vs Afghanistan- Afghanistan Caused The First Upset The World Cup
England vs Afghanistan match saw the first upset of the 13th edition of the World Cup as the Afghani team achieved a significant victory by defeating the defending champions, England, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
Afghanistan shocked the defending champions at #CWC23 with a solid all-round performance 👌#ENGvAFG Match report 👇
— ICC (@ICC) October 15, 2023
The Afghan team won the match by 69 runs, marking their first win in the tournament since the 2015 World Cup. Notably, this is the second time England has suffered a reversal on Indian soil in 12 years, with Ireland upsetting them in Bangalore during the 2011 World Cup. Afghanistan has now defeated a Test-playing country for the first time in the World Cup, having previously defeated Scotland in 2015.
In the match, England won the toss and decided to bowl first. The Afghanistan team was all out for 284 runs in 49.5 overs, setting a target of 285 runs for England to chase. However, England’s entire team was dismissed for 215 runs in 40.3 overs.
The English batsmen struggled against Afghanistan’s spin bowlers, with the experienced Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman taking three wickets each. Additionally, off-spinner Mohammad Nabi claimed two wickets. The trio of Rashid, Mujeeb, and Nabi collectively dismantled England’s batting lineup. Fazalhaq Farooqui and Naveen Ul Haq also contributed with one wicket each.
England’s History Of Unexpected Losses In ODI World Cups
England vs Afghanistan– Over the years, England has had suffered some surprising losses in ODI World Cups, totaling five in all. The first time it happened way back in 1992 when Zimbabwe beat them by just 9 runs then In 2011, England faced two unexpected defeats, first to Ireland by 3 wickets and then to Bangladesh by 2 wickets. In 2015, Bangladesh repeated the feat, defeating England by 15 runs.
Now, in World Cup 2023, Afghanistan has added to England’s list of surprising losses by winning by a big 69-run margin in the World Cup. It’s important to note that England has also faced surprises in the T-20 World Cup, losing twice to the Netherlands.
Harry Brook Stands Alone as England’s Hope
England’s got off to a shaky start in chasing of the 285-run target as they lost two wickets within just 7 overs. Jonny Bairstow was dismissed after scoring just 2 runs, followed by half centurian in the last match Joe Root with 11 runs to his name. England tried to form partnerships in the middle overs but they continued to lose wickets consistently.
Last match Hero Dawid Malan managed to score 32, Big Gun Jos Buttler scored 9, Liam Livingston 10, Sam Curran 10, Chris Woakes 9, Adil Rashid 20, Mark Wood 18, and Reece Topley contributed 15 runs only.
The only silver lining for England was Harry Brook, who scored a well made half-century by scoring 66 runs before getting caught by Mujeeb ur Rehman with wicketkeeper Ikram Alikhil’s assistance. Following this, the team added only 46 runs before being bowled out.
Afghanistan’s Strong Start and Middle-Order Batting
England vs Afghanistan-Batting first, Afghanistan got off to an impressive start credit to openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran as the pair managed to score 79 runs without losing a wicket in the powerplay. Afghanistan lost first wicket at the score of 114. The opening pair, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, made a century partnership for the first wicket, scoring 114 runs in 101 balls. This partnership was eventually broken by Adil Rashid, who dismissed Zadran.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz played a brilliant innings scoring 80 runs off just 57 balls. His innings included 8 fours and 4 sixes, and Gurbaz has had a noteworthy career with 3 fifties and 5 centuries to his name.
Adil Rashid emerged as the leading wicket-taker. The leg spinner got 3 wickets. Among the fast bowlers, Mark Wood claimed 2 wickets, while Reece Topley got one. Part-time bowlers Liam Livingstone and Joe Root took one wicket each. Root also contributing with four catches in the match.
Afghanistan’s innings saw 6 wickets fall at a score of 190 runs, with Hashmatullah Shahidi managing just 14 runs, Azmatullah Omarzai contributing 19, and Mohammad Nabi scoring only 9 runs. Afterward, Rashid Khan added 23 runs to the total, and following his dismissal, Mujeeb Ur Rahman quickly scored 28 runs in just 16 balls. Ikram Alikhil was eventually out after scoring 58 runs, helping the team’s total surpass the 275-run mark.
Pure joy 🥰 🇦🇫#CWC23 #ENGvAFG pic.twitter.com/JzQWnodTlD
— ICC (@ICC) October 15, 2023
Mujeeb Ur Rahman Named Player of the Match
Afghanistan spin-bowling all-rounder Mujeeb Ur Rahman dedicated his Player of the Match award to the victims of the earthquake that caused havoc in Afghanistan following their historic win against defending champions England at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
Speaking after the match, it’s a proud feeling to beat the defending champions at the World Cup, while dedicating the Player of the Match award to the victims of the Afghanistan earthquake. Mujeeb scored 28 runs while claiming three wickets against England as they registered just their second win in the history of ODI World Cups.