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Hello and welcome to Match #8 of the Champions Trophy where England are taking on Afghanistan. Group A has witnessed the elimination of Bangladesh and Pakistan. Now, the loser of this game will be shown the exit door as well. England racked up 351 and still came a cropper against Australia. Afghanistan were blown away by South Africa.
Both the sides have to lick their wounds and chase a victory in this do-or-die battle. England have seemed off-color for the last month or so and need to revive their fortunes. Afghanistan ought to have their match winners delivering the goods or else it will be too late.
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Adil Rashid, accompanied by an injured Mark Wood, struggled to clear the rope in the final over with 13 needed off 6 balls. To be honest, it’s too much to ask from the tail-enders in such a pressure situation. Afghanistan recovered marvelously with the bat, and made a good fist of things with the ball to defend a solid score. Ibrahim Zadran is undisputably going to be the player of the match. An overhaul might be in store for England, who lost to Afghanistan in the 2023 ODI World Cup as well.
Archer swung for the fences but the clever change of pace from Fazalhaq Farooqi outsmarted the biffer. The faces of Root and Buttler grow paler.
Fazalhaq Farooqi had gone off after bowling that over but the umpires have called him back. Very good umpiring. If you are fit enough to bowl, you can field too.
Woof, what an eventful over! Archer sliced a length delivery to mid-off where Rashid covered some good ground and even caught the ball but it popped off as his elbows hit the turf.
Then Overton got hold of the short ball and pulled it wide of the man at deep mid-wicket. 8 runs had been taken off the over but Overton got greedy, whipped a slower ball and found the fielder at long-on.
39 needed now off 26 balls and Root falls. My word, this game is going down to the wire! Was banged in, the batter was cramped for room and the edge was found.
Afghanistan believe again. The tail is now well and truly exposed, but England do bat deep so nothing is cast in stone as of yet.
Three overs from Azmat. Two overs from Fazalhaq Farooqi. That is how Afghanistan will look to finish now that Rashid Khan, their primary weapon, has bowled out for 10-0-66-1. He will have to wait for his 200th ODI wicket as Root was wise enough to play out his final over.
First ODI hundred for Joe Root in 37 innings, and England couldn’t have asked for a better occasion for their lynchpin to bring up three figures. He accomplishes an ODI ton after almost five years. The dressing room is up on its feet. England know they are pretty much alive in the 326-run chase till Root is out there in the middle.
Jos Buttler gone for 38, and Liam Livingstone follows suit. The Afghan fans look happy! 91 required off 66.
Can Joe Root tilt the scales in England's favour? Follow our live blog to stay updated: www.guerillacricket.com/76032,champi…
— Guerilla Cricket (@guerillacricket.bsky.social) February 26, 2025 at 9:48 PM
The game was in the balance until a few overs ago with Buttler breaking the shackles and discovering his mojo, but with the departure of the captain Afghanistan surely have the upper hand. Few dot balls in the last over, a couple in this over and Buttler has lost his patience and with it his wicket.
Surprise bumper from Omarzai, Buttler attempts a pull and gets a fatal top-edge. The all-rounder lets out a loud roar as he knows he has netted the big fish.
Jos Buttler doesn’t have too much credit left in the bank as a captain and a campaign-ending defeat here could draw curtains on his leadership stint. For the first 24 balls of this stay, it was evident that he was feeling the pinch.
He had a massive let-off on 9, when Mohammad Nabi turned one into his pads but couldn’t eke out the on-field decision from umpire Joel Wilson, despite Gurbaz pleading behind the stumps. But on 12, he finally timed a clip off his toes for England’s maiden six of the innings. Can that be the shot that gets this brute of a clean striker going?
In the meantime, it’s business as usual for Root as the requirement drops below 150 going into the final 20. Half-century for the experienced campaigner at a strike rate of 100. England desperately want him to convert it into his 17th ODI hundred.
Can senior pros Root and Buttler, who was brought on the crease due to the nothing shot played by Brook, see England through in this nervy pursuit?
Off the mark with a boundary, Harry Brook has quickly added another two to his tally as he accompanies Joe Root, who is batting on a run-a-ball 37. England now need under 200 runs. The Afghani spin trio is aiming to get through the overs quickly.
Ben Duckett isn’t able to capitalize on the dropped catch by Shahidi on 30. Rashid breaks the 68-run partnership and he is absolutely stoked. The zippy leg-spinner, pitches on leg and turns just enough to beat Duckett’s inside edge. He was glued to the crease, as he often is, and got struck in front. Ball-tracking shows the ball to be smashing into the leg-stump. Fabulous review by the Afghans!
Just like in the last game against South Africa, Nabi strikes off his first ball. He is over the moon. Jamie Smith dances down the track even before Nabi has let go of the ball. The clever operator he is, Nabi shortens the length a fraction and elicits a miscue. Omarzai at backward point moves to his right and pouches the thick top edge safely.
Poor shot selection from Phil Salt and he pays the price! A good length ball on off, only a modicum of movement as the ball skids on after pitching. Phil Salt tries to swipe it across the line but misses. The ball goes on to crash into the top of middle and off. Salt’s lean patch continues. Ideal start with the ball for Afghanistan as they defend a sturdy total thanks to the 177-run masterclass by Ibrahim Zadran.
Ibrahim Zadran stitched partnerships worth 103(124) and 111(55) with Hasmatullah Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai respectively to bail Afghanistan out from a precarious 37/3.
His 177 is the highest individual score for 🇦🇫, surpassing his own 162 that he crafted against Sri Lanka. pic.twitter.com/cHhOQXOWcK
— Aryan Surana (@iamaryansurana) February 26, 2025
Take a bow, Ibrahim Zadran! Sensational batting👏🏻https://t.co/m15tjEwEmG pic.twitter.com/iaWUFoOEQw
— Guerilla Cricket #GCFromHome (@guerillacricket) February 26, 2025
20 runs is the most conceded by Jofra Archer in an over in an ODI, and this abject treatment has been meted out to him by the man of the moment, Ibrahim Zadran. He kicked off the productive over by punishing a slower ball in the arc, and then guided a rubbish full-toss behind square on the off-side.
The centurion proceeded to read the back of a hand slower ball out of the palm and placed the drive wide of sweeper cover before collecting another boundary through the point region. Archer was the reason England were ruling the roost at one point but it’s turning into a bittersweet outing for the pacer.
Just 4 runs had been scored off the last 11 balls and something had to give. Azmatullah Omarzai, who was giving Zadran good company, perishes for 41(31) as Jamie Overton does him in with a timely slower ball.
Having staged a remarkable recovery from 37/3, can 🇦🇫 set 🏴 a total around 300?
Centurion Ibrahim Zadran is joined by Mohammad Nabi at the crease, with eight overs to go. 🏴 will back their quicks to contain the runs given their solid first spells.
BLOG https://t.co/tbtBie1tzt pic.twitter.com/x3slmJD7L6
— Guerilla Cricket #GCFromHome (@guerillacricket) February 26, 2025
Tenth individual hundred in Champions Trophy 2025 – the joint most in a single edition of the tournament alongside 2002 and 2017. Pakistan is now the only team without an individual ton in CT 2025.
Hundreds for Afghanistan in ICC ODI events:
Ibrahim Zadran 129* vs Aus Wankhede WC 2023
Ibrahim Zadran 100* vs Eng Lahore CT 2025
Adil Rashid has brought an end to a partnership worth 103 (124) between Ibrahim Zadran and Hasmatullah Shahidi.
The left-right combination lifted 🇦🇫 out of a hole that they found themselves in at 37/3, with Jofra Archer proving the wrecker-in-chief.https://t.co/1x0pGMbMZH pic.twitter.com/kXvTYurXD0
— Guerilla Cricket #GCFromHome (@guerillacricket) February 26, 2025
Afghanistan turn a corner. So far there had been just one 10-run over in the course of their repair job of an innings. However, after Jamie Overton was greeted back into the attack with a well struck loft down the ground by Zadran, his next over was properly pounced on – 16 runs coming from it with two fours and a wonderful six over long-off. With the skipper steadfast at the other end, the century stand is ticked off from 119 balls. Eight an over from here guides Afghanistan to the vital 300 mark, which would be a remarkable recovery from the precarious 37/3.
Afghanistan have been elbowed into a corner by England but Zadran is showing the stomach for a fight. Tossed up by Adil Rashid, he advances to get to the pitch of the ball and thumps it over long-off. Managed to procure both elevation and distance.
While his partnership with captain Hashmatullah Shahidi has crossed fifty, Zadran is approaching his own half-century. Nice little recovery this by Afghanistan after the early setbacks. Long way to go though.
The first hour or so of the contest has been thoroughly aced by England. As things stand, the decision to bat first has backfired on Afghanistan. Both Archer and Wood bent their backs and made life hell for the batters with their extra pace and bounce. Archer reaped the rewards in their entirety as England push Afghanistan on the back foot.
The short ball gets the better of Rahmat. He shaped to play the hook but gets into a tangle. The bouncer gets big on him and Adil Rashid does well at fine leg to grasp the top edge. Afghanistan in deep trouble as England spew venom from both end in the first PowerPlay, with Archer claiming all the spoils.
In the first eight overs, England pacers have swung the ball the most in this tournament in fixtures hosted in Pakistan.
He blazed off the blocks with a ramped six off the express Mark Wood, and has now produced consecutive boundaries against the on-song Archer – a slap past point followed by a delectable straight drive. Display of positive batting from the Afghan opener.
Meanwhile, Wood lays down on the ground and is getting his left knee stretched by the physio. He’s injury prone so England must be concerned. Ah, he is trudging back to the dressing room.
Archer’s raw pace is proving too hot to handle for the Afghanistan batters. While the supremely talented Gurbaz was castled by a full inswinger, Sediqullah Atal played all around an overpitched delivery on middle and leg to be caught in front. He takes a review along with him. A terrible start for the underdogs of this match.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz taps a back-of-length ball with an open bat-face besides the pitch on the off-side and calls his partner through. Phil Salt runs in, attacks the ball and flicks it onto the stumps air-borne. Ibrahim Zadran had to put the big dive in to make it home.
It’s really been a tough time for England lately. After a strong opening performance, they seem to have lost their rhythm, especially in pressure situations. Afghanistan definitely seems like a more confident team in this do-or-die match.