Afghanistan pulled off an unexpected victory over England in the Group B Champions Trophy match in Lahore which forced England out of semifinal contention.
Afghanistan won their previous ODI match against England during the 2023 World Cup in New Delhi by eight runs in the decisive last over after stunning the defending champions.
Ibrahim Zadran set a Champions Trophy record with his 177-run innings which helped Afghanistan recover from an initial setback to finish at 325-7.
The Group B match at Gaddafi Stadium served as a knockout game since any defeat meant elimination from the 50-over tournament’s semifinal race.
Despite facing potential boycott calls from British politicians because of the Taliban’s treatment of women Afghanistan decided to bat after losing their initial match.
Afghanistan lost three wickets quickly to make 37-3 in nine overs but Zadran stabilized the inning through a partnership of 103 runs with captain Hashmatullah Shahidi who scored 40 runs.
The sixth wicket partnership between Zadran and Mohammad Nabi resulted in 111 runs while Nabi scored 40 runs from 24 balls.
At age 23 Zadran dismantled England’s bowling attack while surpassing his former ODI best of 162 with a powerful 146-ball innings featuring 12 fours and six sixes.
The player surpassed his own ODI record for Afghanistan and set a new tournament record shortly after Ben Duckett scored 165 for England against Australia.
Jofra Archer opened his England bowling with three quick dismissals which started when he bowled Rahmanullah Gurbaz for six.
England fast bowlers Jofra Archer and Mark Wood reached speeds between 145 kmph and 150 kmph before Mark Wood sustained an injury that caused him to leave the field multiple times.
Zadran took advantage of Wood’s departure after four overs which prompted skipper Jos Buttler to change his bowling choices.
The leg-spinning Adil Rashid ended their partnership when Shahidi attempted a reverse sweep but missed the ball which struck the stumps.
Zadran achieved his seventh ODI century when he hit a single off Liam Livingstone, which helped him and Azmatullah Omarzai build a fast-paced partnership of 72 runs until Omarzai was dismissed for 41.
The wicket did not affect Zadran who maintained his attack momentum by hitting a six along with three fours from Archer.
Wood removed himself from the field after delivering another four-over spell while Buttler faced the challenge of controlling his team against aggressive batting from Zadran and Nabi.
Livingstone took Zadran’s wicket during the final over before dismissing Nabi as well.