{"id":4021,"date":"2023-10-15T19:31:39","date_gmt":"2023-10-15T19:31:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/totalcric.com\/?p=4021"},"modified":"2023-10-15T19:32:17","modified_gmt":"2023-10-15T19:32:17","slug":"afghanistan-stun-england-in-a-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/totalcric.com\/afghanistan-stun-england-in-a-world-cup\/","title":{"rendered":"Afghanistan stun England in a World Cup upset for the ages"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Afghanistan vs England: Rashid, Mujeeb and Nabi shared 8 wickets to pull off only their second win in the World Cup, while handing the holders their second loss in 3 games in New Delhi<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The last time England faced Afghanistan at the ODI World Cup, Eoin Morgan <\/strong><\/a>smashed a world record 17 sixes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The last time England faced Afghanistan at the ODI World Cup<\/strong><\/a>, Rashid Khan recorded the most expensive bowling returns in Cup history (0\/110 in 9 overs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The last time England faced Afghanistan at the ODI World Cup, they won by 150 runs and went on to win the tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, you can scratch all that out because the next time someone mentions the last time England faced Afghanistan at the ODI World Cup, the Afghans can talk about a stunning 69-run victory that will go down in history as one of the great upsets in the tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It can take its rightful place among other legendary wins \u2013 Ireland over Pakistan in 2007, Kenya over Sri Lanka in 2003, Zimbabwe against Australia in 1983, Kenya versus West Indies in 1996, Ireland versus England in 2011, and the biggest of them all, India over West Indies in the 1983 final. No one saw this coming, just as no one saw them coming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Afghanistan’s big challenge has always been to get enough runs on the board and when they were put in to bat first, it seemed like a familiar failing would surface again. Despite a 114-run opening stand, Hashmatullah Shahidi\u2019s team stumbled to 190\/6. The heads were shaking, the crowd was looking bored and England were strutting around on the field. Things were well under control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That is when Ikram Alikhil, the Afghanistan wicket-keeper, played an innings of rare quality. His 58 off 66 balls helped turn the innings around with support from Rashid Khan (23 off 22) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (28 off 16). It pushed the total into a competitive zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n England, though, still didn’t look worried. Sides around the world have tried to ape England’s approach of filling their sides with batters. Surely, they had enough depth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is perhaps where the experience of their coach Jonathan Trott and their mentor Ajay Jadeja <\/strong><\/a>helped. Former England batter Trott\u2019s knowledge of the current team and Jadeja’s knowledge of local conditions would have helped them come up with the perfect gameplan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s good because he has a lot of experience of playing international cricket,\u201d Shahidi had said a few days back while talking about Jadeja\u2019s role. \u201cAnd he has experience of Indian conditions. As a mentor, he always talks about how to deal with pressure, how to play against these teams… He has come in to give us talks about mental strength and how to deal with pressure and against these oppositions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n