This was a knockout match. Whosoever misplaced at this time wouldn’t have the ability to transfer to the top spherical of the ICC Champions Trophy.
The Afghanistan cricket team has knocked England out of the ICC Champions Trophy. The Afghan Atalans looked down and out in the early stages of the match after being reduced to 37/3 by Jofra Archer, who sent Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal, and Rahmat Shah back to the hut. But Ibrahim Zadran had other things in mind. His 177 helped Afghanistan post 325. Azmatullah Omarzai’s 5/58 made all the difference as they defended the total despite Joe Root’s 17th ODI ton, winning the match by 8 runs.
The emotions ran high post-match as they became the giant slayers in ODIs. In the World Cup 2023, they beat England and Pakistan. Now, they have slayed England again, knocking them out of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. This was England’s sixth consecutive loss in ODIs.
Ibrahim Zadran & Azmatullah Omarzai lead the charge in nail-biter
The opener guided Afghanistan to a massive 325-run total, courtesy of his record-breaking 177-run knock. Azmatullah Omarzai and Mohammad Nabi aided him superbly, but Ibrahim did the heavy lifting. It was genuinely one of the best ICC event performances from a batter. Everyone knows how good the Afghani spinners are, and chasing anything over 300 would be a tough cookie for them.
Like Afghanistan, England too looked out of the game after losing Phil Salt and Jamie Smith early. But Joe Root‘s incredible hundred kept the Three Lions alive. But no one tied the other end up. Be it Ben Duckett, Jos Buttler, or Jamie Overton. After scoring 120 off 110 balls, Root departed with 39 runs needed from 25 balls.
Omazai’s 5-wicket haul bagged Afghanistan the match. He got Salt, Root, Buttler, and Overton before getting the final wicket of Adil Rashid. One mustn’t forget that his knock started it all. Afghanistan was batting slow until then, and his 41 off 31 shifted the momentum in their favour.
Afghanistan continue to create ICC history
The Afghan Atalans have been getting better and better. In the ODI World Cup 2023, they couldn’t reach the quarterfinal due to one of the greatest ODI innings of all time by Glenn Maxwell. But they didn’t let the hurt stop them. In the T20 World Cup 2024, they made the semifinal by beating the likes of Australia and New Zealand on their way. Afghanistan has created history; this is its first-ever ICC Champions Trophy victory.
“As a team we are happy and I’m sure the whole nation will be happy with this win. The first time we beat them in the 2023 World Cup. I keep saying that we are improving day by day as a team, and that’s what we’ve shown at the last couple of World Cups. Today it was a tense game, but we controlled it really well. I’m happy with the result,” Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said at the post-match presentation.
Afghanistan’s biggest wins in ICC events
- West Indies in 2016 T20 World Cup
- England in 2023 World Cup
- Pakistan in 2023 World Cup
- Sri Lanka in 2023 World Cup
- New Zealand in 2024 T20 World Cup
- Australia in 2024 T20 World Cup
- England in 2025 Champions Trophy
ICC Champions Trophy: Points Table, Group B
| Team | Matches | Won | Lost | No Result | Points | Net Run Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | +2.140 |
| Australia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | +0.475 |
| Afghanistan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | +0.160 |
| England (E) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -0.305 |
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‘Large slayers’ Afghanistan knock England out, register first-ever ICC Champions Trophy victory
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