Afghanistan has made the Australian and South African teams worried in the Champions Trophy by knocking England out of the tournament and showing that they can also fight for a semifinal spot in Group B.
The match in Lahore on Wednesday was very exciting and high scoring, with a total of 642 runs made. However, England lost by eight runs while chasing Afghanistan’s score of 325 for 7.
Ibrahim Zadran, who was named Man of the Match, played a key role in Afghanistan’s win by scoring more than half of the team’s total runs. The opener scored 177 runs off 146 balls, which put a lot of pressure on England’s bowlers.
Joe Root then gave a fighting effort for England by scoring 120 runs off 111 balls. However, Afghanistan’s Azmatullah Omarzai took five wickets for 58 runs, ending Root’s innings and further weakening England’s chances. This loss marks England’s sixth consecutive defeat in ODIs.
With this win, Afghanistan has sent a clear warning to the Group B leaders, South Africa and Australia. They have earned two points and are now just one point behind the top two teams. Afghanistan now has the chance to beat Australia when they meet the ODI world champions on February 28 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Meanwhile, England will try to win their next match against South Africa, as a win might help them avoid elimination from the tournament.
If Afghanistan beats Australia and South Africa loses to England, the net run rate will decide whether Australia or South Africa will join Afghanistan as the two semifinalists from Group B. Should either Australia or South Africa return home before the semifinals, they will surely blame the weather in Rawalpindi that caused their match to be washed out.
In Group A, India and New Zealand have already secured their spots in the semifinals. On the other hand, hosts Pakistan and Bangladesh have been eliminated and will play a match on Thursday that has no bearing on the tournament standings.
