In a stunning turn of events, Afghanistan bowled out the defending champions, England, for a total of 215 runs, securing a remarkable 69-run victory in what marks the first major upset of the ICC Cricket World Cup.
Afghanistan delivered the initial surprise of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 by defeating the defending champions, England, with a convincing 69-run victory. This match took place on Sunday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. Despite winning the toss and choosing to bowl first, England struggled and could only manage 215 runs against Afghanistan’s trio of spin bowlers.
In a remarkable performance, the underdog team Afghanistan set a challenging target of 285 runs for England. This was achieved, in part, through a brilliant display by opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who played a blistering knock of 80 runs off just 57 balls, and a significant contribution from wicketkeeper Ikram Alikhil.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz quickly reached his fifty, but Afghanistan lost wickets as England’s leg-spinner Adil Rashid made an impact with three crucial wickets for 42 runs. Gurbaz seemed well on his way to a century but was unfortunately run out by substitute David Willey at midwicket on a risky run call by skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi. Gurbaz expressed his frustration, venting his anger by smashing his bat on the boundary rope as he walked back to the pavilion.
Spinners Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman contributed lower down the order, helping Afghanistan put up a competitive total and allowing their bowlers to aggressively challenge the England batters.
Despite having a formidable batting lineup, England faced an early setback when left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi dismissed opener Jonny Bairstow in the second over. Afghanistan’s spinners then took control, with off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman dismissing Joe Root for 11 runs, and Mohammad Nabi removing Dawid Malan for 32. England captain Jos Buttler was also dismissed for just nine runs by pace bowler Naveen-ul-Haq. Afghanistan bowled out
The star leg-spinner Rashid Khan further compounded England’s problems by dismissing both Liam Livingstone and Adil Rashid, adding to their list of dismissals.