As quick wickets blazed after England’s Mark Wood failed to connect a strike and Rashid celebrated with raised arms, Afghanistan made history by claiming their first ODI World Cup victory against a Test-playing nation.
There were many heroes for Afghanistan, but none better than their spin trio of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi as they shared eight wickets between them to bowl out England for 215 in 40.3 overs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday, October 15 to win by 69 runs and move up to fifth in the points table.
Early raids by Farooqi and Mujeeb
Fazalhaq Farooqi and Mujeeb made an early breakthrough in the game after the former got a favorable decision for an LBW call against Jonny Bairstow. Mujeeb then fools Joe Root with a beautiful leg break delivery.
Malan’s soft dismissal opens a can of worms
Naveen fired up by the crowd
Whenever Naveen Ul Haq came to bowl, the crowd chanted ‘Kohli Kohli’ to remind him of the history between the Indian bowler who hails from Delhi and the Afghan bowler. Frustrated by this, Naveen was keen to deliver a deadly length ball that crashed through the wickets of England captain Jos Buttler.
Rashid and Nabi hunt in pairs
It was then up to the two most experienced spinners as Nabi removed Sam Curran while Rashid got rid of Liam Livingstone before that.
Mujeeb provides vital breakthroughs
Chris Woakes tried to build a partnership with Brook and the duo added 22 before Mujeeb returned to dismiss Woakes and Brook in quick succession. The remainder of the job was completed by Rashid as he dismissed Adil Rashid and Mark Wood respectively.
Brooke, the lone warrior, stands up
Brook was the lone warrior for England, standing up with a solid 66 off 61 balls, but found no support at the other end as the walls of England’s batting line-up crumbled at the Cauldron.
Earlier in the day, Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored a flying 80 off just 47 balls in the opener and then Ikram Ali Khil scored a calculated 58 off 66 balls at the end of the innings as the two wicketkeepers helped Afghanistan score 284 in 49.5 overs against a defending champions.
For England, Adil Rashid was the pick of the bowlers as he took 3/42 in his 10 overs.
Flying start
The Afghans got off to a flying start as openers Gurbaz and Ibrahim Ali Zadran added 114 runs for the first wicket, leaving England helpless for a while as no change from Jos Buttler was effective.
Rashid takes England back
Suicidal leakage
Gurbaz’s run was nothing short of suicidal as Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi dropped the ball directly to stand-in fielder David Willey and ran away. Gurbaz had to respond and was left miles behind the crease before Buttler collected a wide toss and shifted the bails.
Omarzai falls after a great start
Azmatullah Omarzai, who scored a fifty against India, looked in great touch here too, but squandered his start to be dismissed for 19 off 24 balls. Soon after Gurbaz’s dismissal, England worked with part-time spinners Joe Root and Liam Livingstone. Root bowled Afghanistan captain Shahidi while Livingstone removed Omarzai.
Read also: World Cup 2023 ENG vs AFG: Gurbaz, Khil lift Afghans to 284 in 1st innings
Missed tripping
Buttler missed a chance to stump Ikram Ali Khil at the start of his innings but failed to take the ball properly off the bowling of Livingston.
Wood’s beater
Mark Wood showed some speed when he bounced off Mohammad Nabi and hit Khil on the shoulders, prompting the physio to be called to the ground. However, Khil was determined to continue and received excellent support from Mujib Ur Rahman.
Sam Curran is done
Mujeeb hit Sam Curran for 18 runs in the over and after that Curran was not brought back into the attack. He bowled a no-ball and got a six on the ensuing free kick, electrifying the Kotla crowd.
Fifty for Hill
Khil eventually reached his third ODI fifty and scored a brilliant 58 off 66 balls before being dismissed by Topley.