ICC Champions Trophy: Afganistan beats England by 8 runs in close match at Lahore
In one of the most closely contested matches of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, newcomers Afghanistan kept their nerve to defeat England by 8 runs in Lahore.
Earlier, Afghanistan won the toss and decided to bat first. However, they got off to a bad start again as Jofra Archer dismissed Rahmanullah Gurbaz (6) and Sadiq Atal (4) in the same over, putting them under pressure early on. He then sacked Rahmat Shah (3), shocking Afghanistan’s senior leadership.
Ibrahim Zadran then combined 103 runs for the fourth wicket with skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi (40), saving Afghanistan. He went on to finish his century, becoming the first player in Champions Trophy history to reach three figures, and added 72 runs for the fifth wicket with Azmatullah Omarzai (41) to keep his team on course for a high total.
He finally scored 177 runs, including 111 runs for the sixth wicket with Mohammad Nabi (40), to help Afghanistan reach 325 for 7 at the conclusion of their 50 overs.
Chasing 326 to win, Joe Root smashed a brilliant 120 off 111 balls as, despite wickets falling at regular intervals, England came close to winning the championship on several occasions.But Root, cramping up late in the innings, fell in the 46th over, and neither Jamie Overton (32 off 28) nor Jofra Archer (14 off 8) could get the team over the line; no boundary was struck in the final 15 deliveries, and England were bowled out for 317 with one ball remaining.
Afghanistan’s success was largely due to the extraordinary performances of fast bowler Azmatullah Omarzai (5-58) and opener Ibrahim Zadran, who scored a stunning 177 off 146 balls to create a new Champions Trophy and Afghanistan ODI record.
First Innings
Afghanistan Score – 325/7 in 50.0 overs
Afghanistan batting performance
Ibrahim Zadran 177(146)
Azmatullah Omarzai 41(31)
Jofra Archer 10-64-3
Liam Livingstone 5-28-2
Second Innings
England Score – 317/10 in 49.5 overs
England batting performance
Joe Root 120(111)
Jos Buttler 38(42)
Azmatullah Omarzai 9.5-58-5
Mohammad Nabi 8-57-2
Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi: “As a team we are happy and I’m sure the whole nation will be happy with this win. The first time we beat them in the 2023 World Cup. I keep saying that we are improving day by day as a team, and that’s what we’ve showed at the last couple of world cups. Today it was a tense game, but we controlled it really well. I’m happy with the result. Oh, he’s absolutely brilliant. Talented guy. When we were three down at the beginning, it was too much pressure. But the partnership me and Ibrahim did was special. I think it was one of the best ODI innings I have ever seen. The beauty of our team is we have talented youngsters and at the same time we have senior guys who are at the top level. Every knows their own roles of what they should do in this team. Hopefully we take this momentum with us for the next game against Australia.”
Jos Buttler, England Captain: “It’s really disappointing. I thought we had our chances in the game. Another fantastic game of cricket, but disappointing to come out on the wrong side. They got away from us there in the last 10 overs. Credit to Ibrahim, he played a fantastic innings. If we look back and reflect, 113 off the last 10 pushed them up to a score that was a very good score on that pitch. He played an unbelievable innings tonight. The way to handle pressure in a run-chase. He needed one of the other top six batters to stay in with him and take the game deeper. I don’t want to say any emotional statements right now. But I think for myself and the other guys at the top, we should consider all possibilities.”
