Afghanistan knocks England out of Champions Trophy with 8-run victory

(Web Desk): Afghanistan defeated England by 8 runs, knocking them out of the Champions Trophy.

In the match played at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium, Afghan captain Hashmatullah won the toss and decided to bat first, a decision that proved highly beneficial.

Batting first, Afghanistan scored 325 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in their allotted 50 overs. In pursuit of the 326-run target, the English team was bowled out for 317 runs in the final over.

Afghanistan’s opening pair of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran started the innings, but Gurbaz was dismissed for 6 runs early on, and Siddiqullah also fell for just 4 runs at a score of 15. Rahmat Shah followed shortly, getting out for 4 runs to Archer.

At this point, opener Ibrahim Zadran played a brilliant innings, scoring a splendid century. Zadran made 177 runs off 146 balls before being dismissed in the final over. His innings included 6 sixes and 12 fours.

Afghan captain Hashmatullah scored 40 runs, while senior player Mohammad Nabi contributed 40 runs off 24 balls. Azmatullah Omarzai also scored 41 runs off 31 balls before getting out.

For England, Jofra Archer took 3 wickets, Liam Livingstone took 2, and Adil Rashid claimed 1 wicket.

Chasing a target of 326 runs, England was bowled out for 317 runs.

Joe Root played a remarkable innings for England, scoring 120 runs off 111 balls, including 1 six and 11 fours. He brought his team close to victory, but once he was dismissed, England couldn’t recover.

Other notable contributions from England’s batsmen came from Ben Duckett and Jos Buttler, who both scored 38 runs, while Jamie Overton made 32, Harry Brook scored 25, and Phil Salt made 12 runs. Liam Livingstone and Jamie Smith were dismissed for 10 and 9 runs, respectively.

For Afghanistan, Mohammad Nabi took 2 wickets, while Fazal Haq Farooqi, Rashid Khan, and Gulbadin Naib each took 1 wicket.

After this defeat to Afghanistan, England's dream of winning the Champions Trophy came to an end. Earlier, they had also lost to Australia.

Afghanistan’s next match is against Australia in the group stage, and if they win, they will qualify for the semi-finals.