By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
England lost its second match in the ICC Champions Trophy to Afghanistan by eight runs on Wednesday and was knocked out of the race to the semifinals.
Chasing 326 to win, Joe Root struck a superb 120 off 111 balls as, despite wickets tumbling at regular intervals, England flirted on numerous occasions with a victory that would keep their tournament alive.
But Root, cramping up late in the innings, fell in the 46th over, while Jamie Overton (32 off 28) nor Jofra Archer (14 off 8) could see the side over the line – no boundary scored in the final 15 deliveries as England were bowled out for 317 with one ball remaining.
Afghanistan’s victory owes a great deal to the sensational performances of fast bowler Azmatullah Omarzai (5-58) and opener Ibrahim Zadran, who hit a magnificent 177 off 146 balls to set a new Champions Trophy and Afghanistan ODI record.
Ibrahim’s knock rescued his side from 37-3 after a devastating opening burst by Archer (3-64), with a banged-up England bowling attack – just as in their opening defeat against Australia – then struggling to make the most of those early inroads and contain Afghanistan as the innings progressed.
Mark Wood injured his knee and looks set to follow Brydon Carse on an early flight home, while Liam Livingstone also left the field late in the innings but did return to take a couple of wickets and would bat.
Defeat means England are eliminated at the earliest opportunity – their fate decided before the final group match against South Africa in Karachi on Saturday.
Afghanistan 325-7 in 50 overs: Ibrahim Zadran (177 off 146), Azmatullah Omarzai (41 off 31), Mohammad Nabi (40 off 24); Jofra Archer (3-64), Liam Livingstone (2-28)
England 317 all out in 49.5 overs: Joe Root (120 off 111), Jos Buttler (38), Ben Duckett (38); Azmatullah Omarzai (5-58).
We enter into the final set of group-stage fixtures, starting with the Group A dead rubber between the already-eliminated Pakistan and Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on Thursday.
In Group B, Afghanistan are then back in action in Lahore on Friday, facing Australia, while England round off their tournament against semi-final chasing South Africa in Karachi on Saturday.