Tournament debutants Afghanistan sent England packing from the Champions Trophy after opener Ibrahim Zadran’& rsquo; s legendary 177 established their narrow eight-run triumph in a Group B thriller on Wednesday.Zadran produced the greatest score in the tournament’& rsquo; s history to help Afghanistan get rid of Jofra Archer’& rsquo; s 3 early wickets and rack up 325-7.
Joe Root & rsquo; s sophisticated 120 kept England alive in the chase till the 46th over however Afghanistan cracked away with routine wickets, ultimately bowling them out for 317 with one ball left in the innings.England were eliminated after their second successive defeat in the competition and Jos Buttler runs the risk of losing the captain’& rsquo; s task after overseeing yet another poor campaign in an ICC occasion.“& ldquo; I put on & rsquo; t wish to state any emotional statements right now,” & rdquo; Buttler said at the discussion ceremony.“& ldquo; For myself and the guys at the top, we should consider all possibilities.”& rdquo; Afghanistan also beat England at the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.“& ldquo; As a team we are happy,” & rdquo; Afghan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi stated.“& ldquo; I know the entire nation will be happy.
We’& rsquo; ll look towards the next game.”& rdquo; Archer produced a three-wicket burst after Shahidi elected to bat in a contest that numerous British political leaders wanted England to boycott over the curtailment of women’& rsquo; s rights in Afghanistan under the Taliban & rsquo; s rule.Rahmanullah Gurbaz dragged one on to his stumps, Sediqullah Atal was caught lbw and Rahmat Shah holed out to leave Afghanistan tottering on 37-3 in the ninth over.Zadran combined in a 103-run stand with Shahidi (40) to prop up Afghanistan while Azmatullah Omarzai (41) and Mohammad Nabi (40) chipped in with helpful cameos down the order.Zadran required 106 balls to raise his 6th ODI hundred and went on to conquer England opener Ben Duckett’& rsquo; s 165 versus Australia on Saturday as the greatest specific score in the history of the tournament.His 146-ball blitz, studded with 6 sixes and 12 fours, earned Zadran the gamer of the match award.England looked rough towards completion of the Afghanistan innings when misfielding and injuries to Mark Wood and Liam Livingstone intensified their problems.Wood hopped off the field after bowling eight wicketless overs but Livingstone returned to send down a neat, two-wicket last over.England stammered early in their reply, losing Phil Salt and Jamie Smith inside seven overs.Duckett (38) got a reprieve when Shahidi dropped him at mid-off but the opener might not take advantage of it.Harry Brook (25) and Buttler (38) could not transform their starts however Root scored on a run-a-ball rate in spite of battling cramp towards completion of his knock.Omarzai, who finished with impressive figures of 5-58, ended Root’& rsquo; s stylish knock when the batter fell captured behind attempting to play the ramp shot.Jamie Overton made 32 and a hobbling Wood returned to bat again but England fell agonisingly short of the target.Afghanistan, coached by former England batter Jonathan Trott, should beat Australia on Friday to make the last four.Cricket fans throughout the country can enjoy all Champions Trophy matches live on Ariana Television.For updates, fixtures and schedules make certain to follow Ariana Television and Ariana News’ & rsquo; digital platforms.The post England knocked out of Champions Trophy by Afghanistan first appeared on Ariana News.