Cricket Highlights, 15 Oct: ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 (13th Match) – England vs Afghanistan – England, the World Cup champion, suffers from catastrophes.

England vs Afghanistan (13th Match) – Highlights

This World Cup incident is the first time Afghanistan has produced a significant one. At the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi today, Afghanistan, which had lost the previous two games, disappointed the defending World Cup champion England. After the game, it was evident how serious England captain Jos Buttler’s choice to field after winning the toss was. Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s batting rampage amassed a formidable total of 284 runs after losing the toss and electing to bat.

In response, the English became distracted by the Afghan propaganda. After being confused by the whirlwind of Mujeeb-ur Rahman, Rashid Khan, and Mohammad Nabi, the current world champions were bowled out for 215 runs in 40.3 overs. Afghanistan won by 69 runs as a result.

Afghan bowlers engaged in combat after scoring 285 runs. Fazal Haque Farooqi, a left-arm fast bowler, gave Afghanistan a strong start in the second over. This pacer got excellent performer Jonny Bairstow (2) by trapping him in LBW.

With a 30-run partnership for the second wicket, Dawid Malan and Joe Root caused some trouble. However, in the seventh over, spinner Mujeeb broke that duo. He bowled out Joe Root (11), who had half-centuries in the previous two games, with his exceptional delivery.

In the first powerplay, England lost two wickets for a total of 52 runs. The Afghan spin left them feeling confused. After removing Dawid Malan (32 runs off 39 balls) in the 13th over, off-spinner Mohammad Nabi put England in trouble once more.Jos Buttler, their captain, was also gone at the team’s 90 runs. A fantastic in-swing delivery from Naveen Ul Haq dismissed Jos Buttler. In just 18 balls, this wicketkeeper-batsman scored 9 runs. Two overs after Buttler was dismissed, Rashid Khan trapped Livingstone (10) in LBW.

On one side England lost 5 wickets for 117 runs, while the procession of batsmen was going on, on the other side, Harry Brook was riding on the Afghan bowlers. Picked up a half-century. In the 28th over, spinner Nabi again made a break. This time Sam Curran (10). Chris Woakes (9) also didn’t last very long. In the 33rd over, Mujib sent him back to the pavilion.

Mujeeb’s bowling charisma was not over yet. Coming to the next over, when the best batsman of this match Brooke dismissed for 66 runs, practically the hope of English victory ended there. Adil Rashid scored 20, Chris Wood 18, and Reece Topley 15 towards the end, but it was not enough to win the match. In the end, after losing all the wickets in 40.3 overs, the English stopped at 215 runs.

For Afghanistan, Mujeeb got 3 wickets, Nabi and Rashid Khan 2 wickets, and Fazal haq Farooqi and Naveen ul Haq took 1 wicket each. Afghanistan had to bat earlier due to losing the toss. Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s whirlwind batting gave the Afghans a terrific start. However, the loss of three wickets for between 114 and 122 runs put an end to their innings. Then, Ikram Alikhil scored 58 runs, leading Afghanistan to a total of 284 runs in 49.5 overs.

Moments after Afghanistan’s team’s century, Zadran returned with a catch to Joe Root off Adil Rashid. He scored 28 runs off 48 balls. Then Rahmat Shah (3) was also trapped by Rashid. Gurbaz was run out after playing a devastating innings. Rahmanullah Gurbaz played an astounding innings of 80 runs for Afghans. He hit 4 sixes in 57 balls as well as 8 fours.

Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, and Hashmatullah Shahidi were unable to surpass the 20-run threshold. In the end, Rashid Khan (23) and Mujeeb ur Rahman’s (28) ferocious innings helped the Afghans achieve 250 runs. They were well-accompanied by Ikram Alkhili. He participated in the World Cup for the first time this year and scored 58 runs. The Afghans’ innings came to an abrupt end after the return of this left-handed hitter.

Adil Rashid took 3 wickets for England. Mark Wood took 2 wickets. Reece Topley, Liam Livingstone, and Joe Root took 1 wicket each.

England vs Afghanistan Scoreboard 

Afghanistan – 284/10 (49.5)  

England – 215/10 (40.3)

Result – Afghanistan won by 69 runs

Player of the match – Mujeeb Ur Rahman

England vs Afghanistan Playing XIs