Sport

World Cup: Afghanistan stun England in major upset win

Published

1 year ago

October 15, 2023

Afghanistan registered a stunning 69-run win over England in the first major upset of the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.

Afghanistan bundled England out for 215 to script just their second Cricket World Cup win, eight years since their last against Scotland in Australia. This time, it was the defending champions at the receiving end.

Put in to bat on a wicket that had yielded big runs recently, Afghanistan mustered a decent total, but then outdid the England bowlers with their spin trio reigning over the famed English batting line-up.

After putting on a decent total on the board, Afghanistan needed early breakthroughs to really push England onto the backfoot and Fazalhaq Farooqi did just that by shaping one back into Jonny Bairstow to trap him in front for two.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman added to England's panic when a quicker one slid through quicker to nip out Joe Root's stumps. At 33/2, England were in early trouble and Afghanistan had their eyes set on something special.

With Dawid Malan gifting a simple catch to cover off Mohammad Nabi and Jos Buttler cleaned up by Naveen-ul-Haq after a jittery time in the middle, Afghanistan were well and truly on top before the 20th over.

They pressed England further immediately after with Rashid Khan snaring the big scalp of Liam Livingstone in the 21st over, leaving the defending champions reeling at 117/5.

Harry Brook held the England innings together, compiling his second ODI fifty and warding off the Rashid threat admirably, but he kept running out of partners. When Nabi sent back Sam Curran, caught at slip, with the score still under 150, Afghanistan had truly stamped their authority on the game.

Chris Woakes and Brook promised a revival with a secure stand, but Mujeeb broke through with a tight over at the end of which Woakes' stumps were pegged back.

Mujeeb came back to dismiss Brook and the rest of the line-up failed to counter the Afghanistan spinners as Afghanistan pulled off a memorable upset win.

Put in to bat, England were treated to a rampant Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who put the defending champions in defensive mode with an onslaught that saw Afghanistan race to 45 inside the first six overs.

With boundaries flooding from one end and Ibrahim Zadran blocking his end out pretty well on a flat wicket, the breakthrough just didn't come for England.

Flaying criticism around their slow powerplay starts, Afghanistan dug into England's bowling attack with Sam Curran being at the receiving end of Gurbaz's fury. The opener smashed him for two fours and a six in the ninth over that saw 20 runs coming.

Gurbaz soon completed a 33-ball fifty and celebrated it next over by upper-cutting Mark Wood over the third man fence with a sublime shot.

Adil Rashid eventually broke through for England, sending back Zadran in the 17th over. The batter's heave the leg-side was safely pouched by Joe Root at mid-wicket.

One brought another as Rahmat Shah was out stumped off Rashid in his next over. What was turning out to be a slight blip on their course soon turned into a mini-collapse as Gurbaz was run out the very next ball with skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi erring in his judgment of a single.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz played one of the shots of the tournament when he uppercut Mark Wood for a six during his fast-paced 80 in Delhi.

With Gurbaz gone for 80 and Afghanistan losing three wickets in three overs, England sensed an opening to come back into the game.

Part-time spinners Liam Livingstone and Joe Root struck in between some lusty hits from Azmatullah Omarzai and Ikram Ali Khil as Afghanistan lost half their side in the 33rd over with the score still under 200.

If England hoped to run through the lower middle-order, that didn't quite materialise with Ali Khil holding his end up quite well. Mark Wood bounced out Mohammad Nabi, but Rashid Khan curbed his instincts to ensure Ali Khil had decent company heading into the death overs.

It took a gem of a catch from Root near the ropes for England to break the 43-run stand between Ali Khil and Rashid with the latter falling to his namesake from the England side.

Mujeeb ur Rahman, though, got going for Afghanistan, slamming a sequence of four, four and six off Sam Curran to push Afghanistan late in the innings. Ali Khil joined him with some cracking shots too after his half-century.

England broke the stand before the final two overs with the wicket of Ali Khil and also prized out Mujeeb the first ball next over, but a competitive total had already been compiled. The 284 put on is Afghanistan's second-highest score in the Cricket World Cup.

Related Topics:#WorldCup Afganistan ArianaNews england featured

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Nepal pulls off one-wicket win over Afghanistan in U19 Asia Cup

After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Afghanistan U19 were bowled out for 123 runs in 35.4 overs

Published

6 hours ago

December 3, 2024

Ariana News

Nepal's U19 cricket team pulled off a dramatic one-wicket victory over Afghanistan on Tuesday in the final group match of the U19 Asia Cup in Sharjah, UAE.

After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Afghanistan U19 were bowled out for 123 runs in 35.4 overs.

Despite the win, Nepal will not progress to the knockout stages, as they lost their earlier matches against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Afghanistan is also out of the running having now lost all three of their matches.

The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) U19 Asia Cup 2024 started on November 29 and will run through to December 8.

Eight teams are taking part in the 50-over event, with Bangladesh defending champions.

As per the ACC U19 Asia Cup 2024 format, the teams have been divided into two groups of four teams each.

Group A has India, Pakistan, Japan and the hosts United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Nepal are clubbed in Group B.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout round after the group stage matches.

The final will be played on December 8.

Sport

Afghanistan announce squads for white-ball tour of Zimbabwe

Published

2 days ago

December 1, 2024

Ariana News

Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Sunday announced the nation’s squads for the white-ball leg of the Zimbabwe tour which consists of three T20Is and as many ODIs, scheduled to begin on December 11 in Harare.

Promising young left-handed top-order batter Zubaid Akbari has earned his maiden call-up to the T20I squad. Akbari put on some stellar performances in the domestic season and was also a major contributor to Afghanistan A's glory at the Emerging Asia Cup. Additionally, Darwish Rasooli returns to the T20I side after an impressive domestic season. He also led the Afghanistan A lineup to their maiden title at the ACC Men’s T20 Emerging Asia Cup in Oman, earlier this year.

Afghanistan will continue to miss the services of prolific top-order batter Ibrahim Zadran, who is still recovering from the ankle surgery he recently underwent in England. However, there's good news for Afghan fans as frontline spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman has fully recovered from his right phalanx sprain, and has been added to the side for both the T20I and ODI series during the Zimbabwe tour.

“The calendar year 2024 has been both busy and successful for the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) and the AfghanAtalan (Afghanistan A) lineup, with a packed schedule of home and away games and some remarkable achievements,” ACB CEO Naseeb Khan said. “As part of this action-packed year, the AfghanAtalan (Afghanistan A) lineup will be touring Zimbabwe for a full and all-format series, which we eagerly anticipate and look forward to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.”

“AfghanAtalan (Afghanistan A) have a rich history of playing in Zimbabwe over the years and have performed exceptionally well there. Playing against Zimbabwe on their home soil is always challenging and brings immense joy. I believe the group of players selected for this series will rise to the occasion and make this tour a memorable one.”

ACB Interim Chief Selector, Ahmad Shah, remarked, “It’s a great feeling to see our frontline spinner, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, recover from his injury and be available for selection. He is an essential member of our squad, and we hope he continues to shine brightly for Afghanistan. Additionally, Zubaid Akbari and Darwish Rasooli have been consistent performers, not only in domestic cricket but also in the recently concluded ACC Emerging Teams Cup, where Afghanistan claimed the title. We have included both players in the T20I squad and wish them the very best for the upcoming series.”

Afghanistan T20I Squad for the Zimbabwe Tour:

Rashid Khan (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Mohammad Ishaq (WK), Sediqullah Atal, Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Nabi, Darwish Rasooli, Zubaid Akbari, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Nangyal Kharoti, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad and Naveen Ul Haq.

Afghanistan ODI Squad for the Zimbabwe Tour:

Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmat Shah (VC), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ikram Alikhil (WK), Abdul Malik, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, AM Ghazanfar, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Bilal Sami, Naveed Zadran and Farid Ahmad Malik.

ACB noted that white-ball leg of the tour has also seen a slight shift and a change in dates to help the spectators attend the key games during weekends. As per the revised schedule of matches, the three T20Is, which were originally slotted to be played on December 9, 11 and 12, have now been pushed back to Wednesday, 11 December, Friday, 13 December, and Saturday, 14 November.

These adjustments have also affected the ODIs, with the first game now scheduled for Tuesday, 17 December. The second and third ODI match will follow on Thursday 19 December and Saturday, 21 December, respectively. All these matches will be played at the Harare Sports Club.