Afghanistan 325 for 7 (Zadran 177, Omarzai 41, Archer 3-64) beat England 317 (Root 120, Omarzai 5-58) by eight runs
The politicians hadn’t wanted this game to go ahead, but who could have wished to deny the scenes of raw euphoria that unfolded in Lahore, as Afghanistan completed the double they had set in motion at the 2023 World Cup and dumped England out of the Champions Trophy in a wildly undulating, anxious scramble for glory.
After Afghanistan had opted to bat first, Jofra Archer’s three-wicket powerplay onslaught should by rights have settled the contest there and then. And yet, from 37 for 3 in the ninth over, Zadran and his captain Hashmatullah Shahidi focussed solely on survival until the point that their 103-run fourth-wicket stand had, almost imperceptibly, transformed itself into a platform for a thrillingly smooth acceleration.
Ultimately Afghanistan’s scorecard told the exact tale of their innings. Three single-figure scores at the top – for a combined total of 14 runs from 28 balls – then a trio of 40s, at ever increasing tempos, from Shahidi, Omarzai and the forty-something himself, Mohammad Nabi, whose 24-ball onslaught was a typically ageless display from a player who has been on every step of this Afghanistan journey, right from their exploratory tour of England as a de facto club side way back in 2006.
And then, underpinning it all, a performance of rare majesty from Zadran, whose sixth hundred in 35 ODI innings was not only the highest by an Afghan in the format, but the best in Champions Trophy history, trumping the 165 that Ben Duckett had posted against Australia in the previous fixture at Lahore.
It was a controlled explosion of an innings, and one of the most impressive ODI performances that can ever have been compiled. Zadran showed the tenacity to hang tough while England’s quicks were dominating the early exchanges, but after reaching his first fifty from 65 balls, he marched through to his hundred from 41 more, then clattered along at a near 200 strike-rate thereafter.
By the time he holed out to square leg at the start of the 50th over, Zadran had worked his way so smoothly through the gears that England had been left with scarcely any agency in their predicament. This was summed up when Wood, who had already spent 38 minutes off the field after his left knee gave way midway through his fourth over, was forced to leave the field once again, this time for good and with two overs of his allocation unused.
It had been a typically masochistic effort from Wood, whose willingness to bust a gut for the cause has never been in doubt. But England’s desperation to get him back into the fray there epitomised their threadbare resources. In a throwback to the sort of bit-part tactics that dominated ODI cricket in the 1980s and 1990s, Joe Root and Liam Livingstone had been charged with cobbling together 12 overs between them. But when, with nowhere else to turn, Root’s offspin was served up to the hard-swinging Nabi, two massive leg-side sixes ensued in a 23-run 47th over.
Not even Archer could stem the tide. He’d already been crashed for a six and three fours by Zadran, now in overdrive, who then launched a slower ball in Archer’s final over over long-on to seize Duckett’s record.
England’s target of 326 was daunting but not insurmountable, as they themselves had discovered on this same ground on Saturday night, when their own hefty total of 351 for 8 had been hunted down by Australia with 15 balls to spare. And yet, it was close to double the sort of target that England might at one stage had envisioned.
The scoreboard pressure was quickly brought to bear. Phil Salt started with a confident thump for four that telegraphed the trueness of the surface, but then lost his off bail as he tried to pull a skiddy length ball from Omarzai. And though Jamie Smith is undoubtedly a name for the future, it’s debatable whether he is the No.3 for the present. Certainly his dismissal was guileless in the extreme: a no-look gallop at the irrepressible Nabi, who skidded his offbreak through a touch quicker, to claim a wicket with the first ball of his spell for the third ODI in a row.
Where there was Root, there was hope, as he and Duckett set about rebuilding the innings much as they had done from an identical starting point against Australia. But after what ought to have been a costly drop from Shahidi at mid-off, when Duckett had 29, Rashid Khan stepped up with a skiddier full length, and sent his man on his way via DRS, just nine runs later.
The errors thereafter came with wearying inevitability. Harry Brook looked a million dollars for his first 20 balls, then got caught in two minds as he popped a tame return catch to Nabi for 25, whereupon Buttler – a player whose form seems so overwhelmingly dominated by his mindset – barely survived his first 12 runs before finally landing a slap for six to seemingly ignite his stay. But then, after one more slog-sweep for six off Nabi, Buttler was undone by Omarzai’s energetic lengths, as he spliced a pull straight to midwicket for 38.
Now it was all on Root. For the first 90-odd balls of his innings, England’s anchorman might as well have been on a serene stroll in Iqbal Park, with his innings scarcely deviating from a run-a-ball tempo. But then, after reaching his 50 from 50 and his hundred from 98, he felt the early onset of cramp, and with 58 still required from six overs, he inverted his stance into a Buttler-style ramp, and pinged his only six over the keeper’s head.
But it was too much to ask for Root to walk the innings home. He kept looking for the angles, and found one final sublime deflection for four through backward square, but at the precise moment at which Afghanistan’s own innings had gone into overdrive, he attempted a flick over deep third off another skidder Omarzai lifter, and was sent on his way via a scuff of the gloves to the keeper.
Jamie Overton seemed to have got the memo with the long-levered finish that he had so long promised but rarely delivered, but having brought the chase within reach with 32 from 28 balls, he attempted another takedown and found long-on with 17 still needed. And though Jofra Archer seemed to be riding his luck with an under-edge for four and a sprawling reprieve at deep cover, he was unable to close it out either. Thirteen from eight was needed when he flung his hands through an Omarzai slower ball, for Nabi in the deep to make no mistake.
Minutes later, it was all done and dusted. Afghanistan march onto what could have been another politically charged showdown with Australia, with a place in the semi-finals at stake, having already crushed the hopes of their new favourite tournament bunnies. Irrespective of the situation in their homeland, a remarkable set of players have once again epitomised the hope and escapism in tough times that only sport can provide.
Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo. @miller_cricket
