The Afghanistan cricket team has knocked the England cricket team out of the ICC Champions Trophy. The Afghan Atalans looked down and out in the early stages of the match after being reduced to 37/3 by Jofra Archer, who sent Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal, and Rahmat Shah back to the hut. But Ibrahim Zadran had other things in mind.
The opener guided Afghanistan to massive 325-run total, courtesy of his record-breaking 177-run knock. Azmatullah Omarzai and Mohammad Nabi aided him superbly with it was genuinely one of the best ICC event performances from a batter. Everyone know how good the Afghani spinners and chasing anything over 300 would be a tough cookie for them.
Like Afghanistan, England too looked out of the game after losing Phil Salt and Jamie Smith early. But Joe Root’s incredible hundred kept the Three Lions in the game. But no one tie the other end up. Be it Ben Duckett, Jos Buttler or Jamie Overton. After scoring 120 off 110 balls, Root departed with 39 runs needed from 25 balls.
Omazai’s 5-wicket haul bagged Afghanistan the match. The Afghan Atalans have been getting better and better. In the ODI World Cup 2023, they couldn’t reach the quarterfinal due to one of the greatest ODI innings of all time by Glenn Maxwell. But they didn’t let the hurt stop them. In the T20 World Cup 2024, they made the semifinal by beating the likes of Australia and New Zealand on their way. Afghanistan has created history, this is their first ever ICC Champions Trophy victory.
ICC Champions Trophy: Points Table, Group B
| Matches | Won | Lost | No Result | Points | Net Run Rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | +2.140 |
| Australia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | +0.475 |
| England | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -0.475 |
| Afghanistan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -2.140 |
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