Afghanistan National Cricket Team has delivered a special all-round performance to beat England by 8 runs and register their first-ever victory at the ICC Champions Trophy tonight in Lahore.
Earlier in the afternoon, Afghanistan won the toss and opted to bat first. They didn’t start well as they were reduced to 37/3 inside the first 10 overs, but Ibrahim Zadran and the skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi put on a 100-run partnership for the fourth wicket to get Afghanistan back into the game.
Hashmatullah Shahidi (40) fell, but Ibrahim Zadran (177) put on a remarkable batting performance and put on important partnerships with Azmatullah Omarzai (41) and Mohammad Nabi (40) to help Afghanistan post 325/7 runs on the board in the first inning.
Ibrahim Zadran (177) now holds the record for the highest individual score in ODIs for Afghanistan, having broken his own previous record of 162 runs. Additionally, he has topped the charts for high scores in the ICC Champions Trophy, which was 165 runs, previously held by Ben Duckett.
In reply, Afghanistan backed up their excellent batting effort with some tight bowling, as they kept striking on regular basis to bundle them out for 317 runs and win the game by 8 runs.
Azmatullah Omarzai (5/58) recorded his maiden five-wicket haul, and was well supported by Mohammad Nabi (2/57), Rashid Khan (1/66), Gulbadin Naib (1/16) and Fazal Haq Farooqi (1/62), who chipped in with regular wickets.
Ibrahim Zadran, the man who scored an astonishing knock of 177 runs off 146 deliveries.
Moreover, It was yet another special all-round performance outing for Azmatullah Omarzai, who, in addition to scoring 41 runs in the first inning, recorded his maiden five-wicket haul and was a key force to Afghanistan’s triumph over England.
This was Afghanistan’s first-ever victory in the ICC Champions Trophy and marked their second consecutive victory over England in ICC tournaments.
Afghanistan has now climbed to the third rank in Group B of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and will meet Australia for their last group stage game on Friday at the same venue.