(Cricket News) Afghanistan registered the first major upset in the 2023 Cricket World Cup, beating England by 69 runs. Afghanistan came to this match with two back-to-back losses against Bangladesh and India, but they put all their troubles aside in their match against England, going all guns blazing, and they emerged victorious, giving a huge statement to the other teams.
England won the toss, and they chose to bowl first. The defending world champions didn’t get off to a good start as Afghanistan were 79-0 at the end of the powerplay, with the England bowlers failing to pick up a single wicket. Rahmanullah Gurbaz reached his fifty in 33 balls, and he looked to convert it into a big one.
Adil Rashid got the breakthrough for England, getting the wicket of Ibrahim Zadran with the help of a great catch from Joe Root at mid-wicket. Adil Rashid continues to be the enforcer for England, getting in regular wickets and giving very little runs. Rashid picked up the wickets of Rahmat Shah and Rashid Khan and was the pick of the England bowlers, bowling 10 overs, giving away 42 runs, and picking up 3 wickets.
Handy contributions from the middle and lower order propelled Afghanistan to a score of 284-10 in 50 overs, with runs coming from Ikram Alikhil, Rashid Khan, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
End of first innings: Afghanistan 284-10; Rahmanullah Gurbazz 80 (57); Ikram Alikhil 58 (66); Adil Rashid 10-42-1-3; Mark Wood 9-50-0-2.
England got off to a poor start as Bairstow was dismissed in the second over by Fazalhaq Farooqi, scoring just 2 runs in 4 deliveries. Dawid Malan got going but failed to convert into a big score, getting out on 32 by Mohammad Nabi. Joe Root also failed to get a big score this game as he was dismissed by Mujeeb Ur Rahman. England were 69-3 at the end of the 13th over.
Harry Brook looked to rebuild the England innings by scoring a fifty, but he had no support from the other end as the batsman kept getting out. England’s deep batting order till number 9 wasn’t helpful in this match, as they had no clue how to face Afghanistan’s bowling.
England were dismissed for 215-10 in 40.3 overs, and they continue the tradition of losing to lower ranked teams in ICC events (vs Ireland in the 2011 World Cup, vs the Netherlands in the 2014 T20 World Cup, vs Bangladesh in the 2015 World Cup, vs Sri Lanka in the 2019 World Cup, and vs Ireland in the 2022 T20 World Cup).
End of second innings: England 215-10; Harry Brook 66 (61); Dawid Malan 32 (39); Mujeeb Ur Rahman 10-51-1-3; Rashid Khan 9.3- 37-1-3.
