Afghanistan have sent jitters into the Australian and South African camps in the Champions Trophy by putting England out of the tournament and announcing themselves as contenders for the two semifinal spots in Group B.
The virtual knockout game in Lahore on Wednesday turned out to be a humdinger, producing 642 runs in total; but it was England who saw their campaign crashing with an eight-run defeat while chasing Afghanistan’s 325 for 7.
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‘Man of the Match’ Ibrahim Zadran laid the foundation of Afghanistan’s win by scoring more than half of the runs in his team’s final total. The opener’s 177 off 146 balls deflated England’s bowling.
Joe Root then stood between Afghanistan and victory with his sublime and equally adventurous at times 120 off 111 balls, but Azmatullah Omarzai removed that threat and ended up with a five-wicket haul (5 for 58) to lead the bowling attack.
It was England’s sixth consecutive defeat in ODIs.
Afghanistan’s win has put Group B leaders South Africa and Australia on notice by clinching the two points and being just a point adrift of the top two teams.
The Afghans are now in a position to upset the Australian party when they meet the ODI world champions on February 28 at the same venue, the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
England, meanwhile, would want to leave the Champions Trophy with a consolation win over South Africa, which can put the them out of the tournament as well.
If Afghanistan beat Australia and South Africa lose to England, then the net run-rate will decide whether the Aussies or the Proteas join Afghanistan as the two semifinalists from Group B.
If either of Australia or South Africa were to take the flight back home before the semis, they would curse the Rawalpindi weather that washed out their face-off.
Group A, on the other hand, has already given the tournament its two semifinalists in the form of India and New Zealand, while hosts Pakistan and Bangladesh have bowed out and will meet in an inconsequential match on Thursday to round off their campaigns.
