The defeat put England’s semi-final chances to rest, while Afghanistan remain in contention.
England Knocked Out of Champions Trophy Following Afghanistan Defeat. Afghanistan sealed victory against England by eight runs following Ibrahim Zadran’s monumental 177-run knock and Azmatullah Omarzai’s five-wicket haul in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025‘s nail-biter at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, on Wednesday.
The defeat put England’s semi-final chances to rest, while Afghanistan remain in contention.
England got off to a shaky start to the pursuit as they lost two wickets for just 30 runs in 6.1 overs as Phil Salt (12) and Jamie Smith (nine) perished cheaply.
Coming out to bat at number four, Root joined Ben Duckett in the middle and launched recovery.
The duo shared an anchoring 68-run partnership until Rashid Khan got rid off the in-form batter on 38.
Root was the involved in a brief 35-run partnership with Harry Brook (25) before finding ample support from the other end in the form of England captain.
The experienced pair of Root and Buttler added crucial 83 runs for the fifth wicket and pushed England’s total past the 200-run mark.
Azmatullah Omarzai broke the budding partnership in the 37th over by dismissing Buttler, who scored 38 off 42 deliveries, laced with two sixes.
England then suffered another blow to their pursuit as Liam Livingstone walked back after making a modest contribution.
Root then joined forces with Jamie Overton for an important 57-run partnership for the seventh wicket until Omarzai got him caught behind in the 46th over with England needing a further 39 runs.
Joe Root remained the top-scorer for England with 120 off 111 balls with the help of a dozen boundaries, including a six.
Omarzai gave Afghanistan another timely success in the 48th over by dismissing another set batter Overton, who made a 28-ball 32, featuring three boundaries.
Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi’s decision to bat first paid dividends as his batting unit yielded 325/7 in their allotted 50 overs.
The Asian side, however, had a contrasting start to their innings as Jofra Archer dismantled their top order with three quick wickets to leave them reeling at 37/3 in 8.5 overs.
Skipper Shahidi then joined Ibrahim in the middle and launched an astounding recovery with an anchoring 103-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
The crucial stand culminated in the 30th over when Adil Rashid cleaned up the Afghanistan captain, who scored a cautious 40 off 67 deliveries featuring three boundaries.
Ibrahim was then involved in an important fifth-wicket partnership with Azmatullah Omarzai with the duo adding 82 runs off just 63 balls until the latter fell victim to Jamie Overton in the 40th over.
Omarzai smashed one four and three sixes on his way to a 31-ball 41.
Ibrahim then joined forces with Mohammad Nabi and together they raised a sensational 111-run partnership until the opener finally perished on the first delivery of the final over.
He remained the top-scorer for Afghanistan with 177 off 146 deliveries, studded with 12 fours and six sixes.
Nabi, on the other hand, followed suit two balls later and walked back after scoring a quickfire 40 off 24 deliveries, laced with two fours and three sixes.
Archer was the standout bowler for England, picking up three wickets for 64 runs in his 10 overs, followed by Liam Livingstone with two wickets, while Overton and Rashid made one scalp apiece.
Playing XIs
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
England: Philip Salt, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith(w), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler(c), Liam Livingstone, Jofra Archer, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.
