In the 13th match of CWC 2023, Afghanistan pulled off the “impossible” by beating England. All predictions pointed to an easy British victory, but the Afghans proved them wrong.
England vs Afghanistan Match Summary
After a flying start by the openers, Afghanistan collected 114 without losing any wickets. Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s extraordinary batting prowess kept the Afghan scoreboard busy. Such an opening performance gave us a forecast of what to expect later in the match. However, after the dismissal of Ibrahim Zadran, the Afghan top-order fell apart pretty quickly. Adil Rashid, Rot, and Livingstone swiftly took out multiple wickets before 200 runs. As a result, the Afghans ended up at 285 runs instead of the predicted 300-plus runs.
In response, the British openers looked tense from the start. Wickets fell frequently, adding more pressure on the middle-order batters. Harry Brook’s innings of 66 runs could not save England from the inevitable. Rashid Khan and Mujeeb’s bowling attack was too much for the British batters. Consequently, the English batters failed to form any significant partnership. Team England managed to pile up 215 runs within 40.3 Overs by losing all wickets, resulting in a 69 runs Afghan victory.
Cricket pundits from all over the world are praising Afghanistan for their fantastic performance against England today. Harsha Bhogle complimented Afghanistan on his X account.
The biggest moment in Afghanistan's cricket history. And a great example of how you accept adversity and keep looking ahead. Afghanistan remains the most memorable cricket story of our times.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 15, 2023
Prior to the match, all numbers, statistics, and predictions were against Afghanistan. Even though facing such odds, Afghan players looked confident and careless about their foe’s dominant records. Mujeeb Ur Rahman received the Player of the Match title for his performance with both the ball (3/51) and bat (28/16). His partner Rashid also took 3 crucial wickets. England will need time to heal from this shocking loss. They are set to face the seemingly unstoppable South Africa on 21st October. While a confident and spirited Afghanistan will face New Zealand on 18th October.
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