Until recently England were considered the side most likely to end India's title hopes, but so far the only thing they have ended is Afghanistan's 14-game, eight-year World Cup losing run.
England's greatest white-ball side can now add to their list of achievements a starring role in one of the World Cup's greatest shocks. From first ball a leg-side wide from Chris Woakes that was missed by Jos Buttler and ran away to the rope - to last they were profoundly outplayed by Afghanistan, who survived the selfinflicted dismissal of Rahmanullah Gurbaz to post a total that, while just 12 more than the one India made light of against them here on Wednesday, proved way beyond these opponents, and England eventually fell 69 short.
Thanks largely to Gurbaz's 57-ball 80 Afghanistan set England a target of 285, in theory eminently achievable on this high-scoring ground. But it was with the ball that they truly shone, and while spin has proved their great strength their seamers made some of England's look third-rate - though to be fair that had been the one thing at which they themselves genuinely succeeded. Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazal Farooqi did not get the rewards their efforts deserved, many of England's boundaries against them coming from edges and mis-hits, but Naveen produced the day's defining moment with a beautiful delivery that scuttled Buttler's middle stump.
This story is from the October 16, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the October 16, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
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