Recent Match Report – Afghanistan vs England, ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, 13th Match

Afghanistan 284 (Gurbaz 80, Alikhil 58, Adil Rashid 3-42, Wood 2-50) beaten England 215 (Brook 66, Malan 32, Rashid Khan 3-37, Mujeeb 3-51, Nabi 2-16) by 69 runs

Afghanistan claimed the most famous scalp in their international history and, in doing so, provided the first major shock of the 2023 World Cup, beating world champions England by 69 points in a masterclass of spin-and- seam in the Delhi spotlight.

Their dominance was sparked by a fearless display of power from 21-year-old Rahmanullah Gurbaz, whose 80 off 57 had promised much more until an exhaustion cut him short at his peak. But Ikram Alikhil rallied Afghanistan’s lower order with a valuable half-century on his World Cup debut, after which they decided to make the target of 285 seem as bleak and distant as the hopes of England to defend their title must now appear.

If, after winning the toss and choosing to continue, England had assumed that the second half of the match would be a breeze to reach the target of 283 that New Zealand had surpassed in their first match of the tournament, those notions were swept aside in a surprising attacking power play from England. their adversaries.

Jos Buttler’s decision to bat second had apparently been influenced by the likelihood of the ball slipping off the bat under the floodlights. But instead, the evening conditions only exacerbated the natural qualities of each of the Afghan bowlers, notably Fazalhaq Farooqi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, from the start of their innings.

Farooqi’s release was more than enough to provoke a few sideways glances in the England dressing room, a wicked inswinger from the full length of his zipped left-arm line pinned Jonny Bairstow at the crease and extracted a perfectly justifiable on-field verdict by Rod Tucker. , regardless of Bairstow’s stink as he came out of the crease after a seam-width DRS verdict.

But no second-guessing was needed for England’s second powerplay victim: Joe Root, confronted by Mujeeb’s front-handed slider, and bowled for 11 off 17 – yet another telling miss in advantage digital for England’s failing pivot – as the ball stayed low to vibrate through the middle and wide.

This is not the first time that Dawid Malan was the most composed batter in the exhibition, his 32 from 39 balls single-handedly taking England through the powerplay without further loss. But Mohammad Nabi, playing his 150th ODI out of a possible 156 for his country, was waiting for him as the fielding restrictions were lifted. Nabi’s fourth ball was a moment of offbeat poetry – a volleyed, diving delivery that made Malan believe his fifth boundary was on the cards, only for Ibrahim Zadran to open the trap at close range.

At 68 for 3 in the 13th over, alarm bells were ringing.

Buttler’s exhortation in recent weeks has been to ‘attack’… but even he was powerless to practice what he preached in such heinous circumstances. His only angry shot was sharp, a ball going through the covers as Afghanistan’s main threat, Rashid Khan, came into the attack in the 17th over. But Naveen-ul-Haq’s fierce seamers seemed to frighten him from the start, and after being bowled twice in his first four balls, he drove half-heartedly through a booming inswinger and had his stumps splashed for 9 out of 18.

England’s distrust was subsequently surprising. Liam Livingstone never looked steady in his 10 from 14, eventually planting his front foot towards Rashid and burning a futile review in the process. Sam Curran seemed focused solely on maintaining an end while Harry Brook was busy with a fighting half-century, including a handful of exquisite field drives, and in the 31st, the first and only six England’s innings, which told a story – especially when compared to the previous World Cup encounter between these teams. Afghanistan, on the other hand, had launched eight.

With Curran on 10 from 23 balls, Nabi – rightly armed with a slip – returned with another collectible to collect another left-hander, as Curran limply pushed on a diving escape and closed low to Rahmat Shah. And it was only with the result a foregone conclusion that England finally managed to shake themselves out of their defeatist mindset, with Reece Topley’s three consecutive fours against Farooqi proving to be one of the the sharpest of a flat display.

It was a crushing victory by any measure, but the gap between Afghanistan’s attacking mentality and England’s muddled approach was even wider than the end result suggested.

And it was Gurbaz’s mini-masterpiece that set the tone for his team. Presented with a surface on which South Africa’s batters had posted three centuries from last week’s World Cup record of 428 for 5, he went on the offensive, particularly against another timid spell from Chris Woakes, whose the search for form embodied England’s uncertainty. start defending their title.

Woakes’ first ball of the match was a wild shot that flew through Buttler’s legs for five wides, and Afghanistan needed little further encouragement to put the hammer down on such a visibly weak link in the English attack. In his second over, a premeditated hack from Gurbaz across the line persuaded Woakes to bring his length back, and Gurbaz was waiting with the punch, a vicious pull slammed over deep square leg for six.

Two more fours followed in Woakes’ next over, whipping the covers as he failed to land his cutters, and although Topley, at the other end, was more frugal with his high left-arm seam, Gurbaz had complete faith in the truth. nature of the terrain, and twice climbed through an offering of width across its arcs with a pair of wild cuts.

Curran replaced Woakes but fared little better. Gurbaz demolished his second over, which disappeared for 20 with two more fours and another muscular six at midwicket to close Afghanistan’s powerplay on a worrying 79 for 0. He duly brought up his fifty on 33 balls, the fourth fastest of the tournament to date. , with a calculated sweep for four off Adil Rashid’s second ball.

England’s concerns had to deepen before they could improve. Mark Wood was quick from the start of his spell, but a misdirected bouncer was blasted up and over the deep third with a flick of the wrists, before Gurbaz hit his fourth six – and arguably the best of the lot: effortless pickup over the top. Deep mid-wicket as Rashid bowled a leg loop through his arc. And when injury-plagued Topley banged his knee failing to cut another pull into fine leg, and limped off to seek treatment, there was concern in the England camp and for his father Don sitting in the stands were obvious.

However, Topley returned in due course, and by then it looked as if Afghanistan’s innings had imploded in a familiar wave of self-destruction. After bowling a maiden to Rashid, Ibrahim Zadran picked out Root with a heads-up clip to mid-wicket, and before he could settle, Rahmat was dragged out of his crease in Rashid’s next over, only to be smartly stumped by Buttler for 3 off eight. balls.

And then… disaster.

Hashmatullah Shahidi pushed his first ball to mid-wicket and went for a rash single, and Gurbaz was barely on target as the shy one came in from mid-wicket. He left the field, completely furious with himself and his captain, smashing his bat on the boundary stone and on a passing chair, knowing full well that these blows could and should have been inflicted on the struggling English bowlers.

But even as Afghanistan struggled to regroup, the seeds of England’s downfall were evident. Liam Livingstone settled into an excellent starting role in the middle of the innings, completing a full ten for the first time in his ODI career, while Root was also a handful with his offbreaks as he bowled Shahidi for a 14 becalmed out of 36.

But at 174 for 5, there would be no capitulation despite Afghanistan’s difficult scoreline. Alikhil anchored the tail as Rashid and Mujeeb took as many chunks off England’s bowling as they could, and by the time Curran’s final over had been bowled for two fours and a six from a free hit, he and Woakes had leaked the numbers combined 8-0. -87-0. In the final analysis, it was these margins that could not be managed, as Afghanistan kept their pre-match promise to offer their country some ‘joy’ in the wake of the earthquake from last week. They couldn’t have offered more.