Afghanistan and England squared off in game 13 of the ODI World Cup 2023 in Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium. Jos Buttler, the captain of England, won the toss and decided to choose to field first on a pitch that appeared to be favorable for batting.
In the end, Afghanistan defeated England by a large margin of 69 runs to claim a historic triumph.
This setback continues England’s pattern of succumbing to surprises in shorter forms. They previously lost to Bangladesh in the 2015 World Cup, as well as to Ireland and Bangladesh in the 2011 World Cup, among many more defeats.
Zimbabwe shocked everyone in the 1992 World Cup by defeating England by nine runs. Zimbabwe won the match despite only collecting 134 runs when batting first, defending their modest total convincingly.
Moving on to 2011, Kevin O’Brien put on a spectacular performance against England that helped Ireland achieve its greatest win. Ireland won in Bangalore by three wickets thanks to O’Brien’s record-breaking century that he made in just 63 deliveries. John Mooney also played a significant role in the Irish team’s historic victory by pitching a vital inning.
Bangladesh defeated England by two wickets in 2011, carrying on from 2010. Jonathan Trott and Eoin Morgan were the leading scorers for England as they amassed 225 runs before being bowled out in the 49th over. With two wickets in hand, Bangladesh responded by successfully chasing down the score.
Bangladesh defeated England once more in the 2015 World Cup, this time by a margin of 15 runs. Bangladesh was able to advance to the quarterfinals thanks to this victory in Adelaide. Mahmudullah’s century—the first by a Bangladeshi player in a World Cup—set the tone for the game, and Soumya Sarkar and Mushfiqur Rahim also made significant contributions. Despite England’s Jos Buttler’s half-century, Bangladesh’s bowlers, particularly Rubel Hossain, were instrumental in winning the victory.
These setbacks underscore the unpredictable nature of cricket and the capacity of underdogs to topple powerful sides. England has a history of suffering setbacks in shorter formats.
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