Afghanistan Stuns England with Historic Win in Champions Trophy 2025
Afghanistan defeated England by eight runs in a thrilling Group B match played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Wednesday to register a historic win and knock the former world champions out of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
Azmatullah Umarzai was the best bowling performer for Afghanistan in the ICC ODI tournament. He took 5 wickets for 58 runs and played a key role in the team's victory against England. Azmatullah Umarzai surpassed the previous record of Mohammad Nabi, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Shapoor Zadran thanks to his performance.
Both teams scored 642 runs in this match. Afghanistan scored 325 runs losing 7 wickets and England's score was 317. Earlier in the history of the tournament, the highest score of 707 runs was scored in the match played between England and Australia. In the 2017 India vs Sri Lanka match, 643 runs were scored.
Azmatullah Umarzai performed brilliantly and emerged as a star. He showed why he was named the ICC ODI Player of the Year. He gave incredible all-round performance in the match. While batting, he scored 41 runs off 31 balls and then took five wickets, demolishing England's batting. The 41 runs off 31 balls helped Afghanistan reach a good score.
Afghanistan's reputation of performing brilliantly in ICC events remains intact. Earlier in the match, Ibrahim Zadran played the best innings of the tournament. Playing a blistering innings of 177 runs, Afghanistan's score reached 325 single-handedly.
Chasing a challenging target of 326, England got off to a positive start as Phil Salt showed intent early on by hitting a four off the first ball of the innings.
Azmatullah Umarzai dismissed Salt in his very first over. England got the first blow at the score of 19 runs. The English players were recovering from the first shock that the second blow came on the score of 30 runs.
The responsibility of handling England's innings was now on the shoulders of Ben Duckett and Joe Root. Both tried to handle the innings. England's score was moving slowly. There was a 50-run partnership between Root and Duckett. It seemed that England's grip on the match was getting stronger. However, on the score of 98 runs, England got the third blow in the form of Ben Duckett. After this, the process of falling wickets continued. However, Root held one end. But, the wicket continued to fall from the other end. After Root's dismissal, England's last hope was also shattered.
Brief Scores:
Afghanistan 325/7 in 50 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 177, Azmatullah Umarzai 41; Jofra Archer 3-64, Adil Rashid 1-60) bowled out England for 317 in 49.5 overs (Joe Root 120, Jos Buttler 38;
--IANS