In a thrilling encounter in Delhi, Afghanistan put an end to their 14-match losing streak in World Cups with a remarkable victory over defending champions England. Chasing a target of 285, England's hopes of a comfortable win were dashed by Afghanistan's spinners, who took eight of the ten wickets.
From the beginning, Afghanistan signaled their intent. Fazalhaq Farooqi claimed Jonny Bairstow's wicket with a sharp inswinger, a crucial start for Afghanistan, as early wickets were essential to challenge England's formidable batting lineup. Mujeeb-ur-Rahman joined the party, securing the crucial wicket of Joe Root, setting the stage for an intense fight.
The pitch in Delhi, favoring spin more than before, was a perfect stage for Afghanistan's spinners. Mohammad Nabi soon entered the action, removing Dawid Malan, who appeared to be England's key batter for the chase. England's batsmen struggled to cope with the turn and bounce generated by the spinners.
Sri Lanka’s Captain Dasun Shanaka Ruled Out of World Cup 2023
While Harry Brook showed promise and held one end up, his partners kept falling, and England found themselves in a precarious situation. With dew anticipated, England needed to take the game deep to exploit the wet conditions later. However, Naveen-ul-Haq's delivery that dismissed Jos Buttler was a game-changing moment.
A second CWC victory, eight years in the making 🇦🇫🫶
— ICC (@ICC) October 16, 2023
#CWC23 pic.twitter.com/MEdIRDOPv6
Rashid Khan added to England's woes by removing the dangerous Liam Livingstone, and England failed to form a single fifty-run partnership, symbolizing their batting struggles. Afghanistan's spinners continued to dominate, and Chris Woakes and Brook's resistance was eventually broken.
In the end, Afghanistan achieved a historic victory, marking the end of their long losing streak in World Cup matches.
Earlier in the day, Afghanistan set their highest-ever World Cup total while batting first, driven by Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ikram Alikhil's fifties. Gurbaz's explosive innings, particularly during the first Powerplay, laid the foundation for a substantial total. However, England's spinners, led by Adil Rashid, fought back to limit Afghanistan to 284.
Despite their underwhelming total, Afghanistan's spinners stepped up and secured a memorable victory, ending their World Cup drought in style.
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Afghanistan vs England result: Afghanistan won by 69 runs
Afghanistan registered a historic victory as they defeated England by 69 runs, courtesy some terrific bowling by their spin bowling trio of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, and Mohammad Nabi. Rahmanullah Gurbaz also played an important role with a brilliant knock of 80 from 57 deliveries at the top of the order.
Match Highlights
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz set the tone for Afghanistan with a blazing knock of 80 from 57 deliveries at the top of the order. His innings consisted of eight fours and four sixes.
- Ikram Alikhil also played an important knock of 58 in the middle-order.
- Lower-order batters Rashid Khan and Mujeeb-ur-Rahman played crucial knocks of 23 and 28 down the order.
- Afghan spinners applied the choke on England batters, claiming eight out of the 10 English wickets.
- Harry Brook tried his best to take England home but he got dismissed on 66 ultimately.
Man of the Match | Afghanistan vs England result
Mujeeb-ur-Rahman was adjudged the Player of the Match for his crucial spell of 10-1-51-3 and important knock of 28 from 16 deliveries down the order.
28 (16) with the bat ⚡
— ICC (@ICC) October 15, 2023
3/51 with the ball 🔥
Mujeeb Ur Rahman wins the @aramco #POTM for his stellar all-round display that helped Afghanistan stun England in Delhi 👏#ENGvAFG | #CWC23 pic.twitter.com/K6Jossq96S
Afghanistan vs England final scorecard
The final scorecard of the Afghanistan vs England match is here.
Afghanistan 284/10 in 49.5 Overs
| BATTING | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz | 80 | 57 | 8 | 4 | 140.35 |
| Ibrahim Zadran | 28 | 48 | 3 | 0 | 58.33 |
| Rahmat Shah | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 37.5 |
| Hashmatullah Shahidi (c) | 14 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 38.88 |
| Azmatullah Omarzai | 19 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 79.16 |
| Ikram Alikhil † | 58 | 66 | 3 | 2 | 87.87 |
| Mohammad Nabi | 9 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 60 |
| Rashid Khan | 23 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 104.54 |
| Mujeeb Ur Rahman | 28 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 175 |
| Naveen-ul-Haq | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 83.33 |
| Fazalhaq Farooqi | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 50 |
| BOWLING | O | M | R | W | ECON | WD | NB |
| Chris Woakes | 4 | 0 | 41 | 0 | 10.25 | 2 | 0 |
| Reece Topley | 8.5 | 1 | 52 | 1 | 5.88 | 3 | 1 |
| Sam Curran | 4 | 0 | 46 | 0 | 11.5 | 0 | 2 |
| Adil Rashid | 10 | 1 | 42 | 3 | 4.2 | 1 | 0 |
| Mark Wood | 9 | 0 | 50 | 2 | 5.55 | 0 | 0 |
| Liam Livingstone | 10 | 0 | 33 | 1 | 3.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Root | 4 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 4.75 | 0 | 0 |
England 215/10 in 40.3 Overs
| BATTING | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
| Jonny Bairstow | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 50 |
| Dawid Malan | 32 | 39 | 4 | 0 | 82.05 |
| Joe Root | 11 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 64.7 |
| Harry Brook | 66 | 61 | 7 | 1 | 108.19 |
| Jos Buttler (c)† | 9 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 50 |
| Liam Livingstone | 10 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 71.42 |
| Sam Curran | 10 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 43.47 |
| Chris Woakes | 9 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 34.61 |
| Adil Rashid | 20 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 153.84 |
| Mark Wood | 18 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 81.81 |
| Reece Topley | 15 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 214.28 |
| BOWLING | O | M | R | W | ECON | WD |
| Mujeeb Ur Rahman | 10 | 1 | 51 | 3 | 5.1 | 1 |
| Fazalhaq Farooqi | 7 | 0 | 50 | 1 | 7.14 | 2 |
| Naveen-ul-Haq | 6 | 1 | 44 | 1 | 7.33 | 0 |
| Mohammad Nabi | 6 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 2.66 | 1 |
| Rashid Khan | 9.3 | 1 | 37 | 3 | 3.89 | 0 |
| Azmatullah Omarzai | 2 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 6.5 | 0 |
