On October 15, Afghanistan defeated England by an astounding margin of 69 runs in the 13th game of the 2023 ODI World Cup. This was the first victory for the Hashmatullah Shahidi-led team in the current competition.
Afghanistan scored a respectable 284 runs after being given the opportunity to bat first, thanks to half-centuries from Rahmanullah Gurbaz (80) and Ikram Alikhil (58). Adil Rashid played a crucial role for England, taking three wickets to help the defending champions.
During the pursuit, Harry Brook scored an important fifty. However, his efforts were in fruitless as England was dismissed for 215 in 40.3 overs. Mohammad Nabi chose two while Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman each chose three. Mohammad Nabi chose two for Afghanistan.
The key talking points from the ODI World Cup are as follows:
The hard blow from Rahmanullah Gurbaz
In the ongoing competition, Rahmanullah Gurbaz was a key factor in Afghanistan’s first victory. In just 57 deliveries, the opening batsman scored 80 runs, including eight boundaries and four maximums. He also partnered with Ibrahim Zadran for more than 100 runs.
The excellent bowling performance by Adil Rashid
The best bowler for England was Adil Rashid, who helped Afghanistan be limited to a manageable total. The seasoned wrist spinner took three wickets while conceding 42 runs in all.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s superb bowling performance
Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who finished with superb statistics of 3/51, was crucial in helping Afghanistan defeat England. In order to capture his three wickets, he dismissed England’s Joe Root, Harry Brook, and Chris Woakes, in that order.
Losing Captain Jos Buttler, England said:
Disappointing to win the toss and concede that many, me missing that first ball down the leg side set the tone. Credit to Afghanistan, they outplayed us today. It came down to execution, we weren’t quite at the level we’d like to be with both bat and ball. They have some fantastic bowlers, the dew didn’t come in as much as we expected, the ball held up a bit too.
They bowled dead straight and kept the stumps in play, we just weren’t quite good enough. You got to let these defeats hurt, there’s no point in getting over things too quickly, we need to reflect. There’s a lot of character in this group, we need to show a lot of resilience and come back stronger. We need to have guys being able to perform under pressure and that’s what all of us will be working hard towards.
Winning Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi, Afghanistan, said:
I’m quite happy, all the teammates are happy. This is the best win for us, the confidence will be there for the next game and I’m very proud. The openers get a lot of credit. They gave us a great start but unfortunately we lost back to back wickets in the middle again, lot of credit to the openers though, especially Gurbaz. Ikram was with us for the last 2 years and didn’t get a lot of chances, today I believed in him and gave him a chance and he repaid my faith. Mujeeb batted brilliantly, he led from the front and scored important runs for us.
We have to score runs, our batting lineup needs to score more for our spinners. We have a lot of confidence about our spinners. Fazal started very well, the first wicket gave us a lot of momentum. When I was batting, I realized the wicket wasn’t supportive for batters against spinners. I told the boys that 280-290 will be enough when I got back into the dressing room. I want to say that the belief, trust and talent is there. Last couple of games we didn’t finish well but the belief is there. This is just the first win, we are looking for more in the tournament. This was just the first one, not the last one.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Player of the Match said:
Very proud moment to be here in the World Cup and beating the champions. It’s a great achievement for the whole team, we worked hard for this day. We beat such a big team. It was a wonderful performance from the bowlers and the batters. As a spinner, it’s pretty hard to bowl in the powerplay, you have only two fielders outside. That’s something I’ve been working in the nets. Bowling with the new ball and trying to be as consistent as possible. That’s something which has made me more effective.
I am always trying to bowl stump to stump and keep it simple. We knew that the dew was going to come and play a part in the latter part. That’s why I was telling the captain to bowl me in the powerplay. We were mentally prepared. (On his batting) It’s all about the management, the players. They give me confidence in the nets. He has always been with me in the nets, my partner.
He wants to hit each and every ball, that’s the area I want to contribute as well. Those 20-25 runs means a lot for the team. This trophy is for the people back home who are affected by the earthquake in Herat. This whole win is for them.
India
