Lahore: Opener Ibrahim Zadran bludgeoned a remarkable 177 as Afghanistan raced to a highly competitive 325 for seven in their must-win Champions Trophy match against England here Wednesday.
Zadran, whose daddy hundred came off 146 balls (12×4, 6×6), had solid support from skipper Hashmathullah Shahidi (40, 67b, 3×4), with whom he raised 103 runs for the fourth wicket, and Azmatullah Omarzai (41, 31b) with whom he milked 72 runs for the fifth wicket.
Later, he plundered 111 runs for the sixth wicket with Mohammed Nabi (40, 24b) to put England through the wringer.
The winner of this match will retain the hopes of entering the semifinals from Group B, and the other team’s campaign in this tournament will come to an end.
But Afghanistan’s start to such a crunch game was way off the mark after they elected to bat first. Paccer Jofra Archer’s (3/64) pace and accuracy put them under considerable strife inside the first 10 overs on an absolute batting beauty.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz dragged an Archer delivery back onto his stumps while attempting a drive, Sediquallah Atal was trapped in front and Rahmat Shah pulled one straight to Adil Rashid at square leg as the Afghans slumped to 37 for three inside the Power Play.
Zadran began the repair work in the company of Shahidi and they were understandably circumspect.
But once he reached 50 off 65 balls, Zadran opened up more and smoked Jamie Overton for a couple of fours to signal the shifting of gears.
However, Shahidi was dismissed when he tried to reverse sweep leg-spinner Rashid, whose front-of-the-arm delivery crashed on to the stumps.
But Zadran flourished in the company of Omarzai as England felt the heat of double-barrel firing.
England also had to deal with a knee injury to pacer Mark Wood, as he bowled only eight overs even after spending some time away from the field during the Afghan innings.
Zadran, who brought up his sixth ODI hundred off 106 balls, soon slipped into overdrive, smashing Overton for 6, 4, 4, in an over.
The departure of Omarzai did not slow down the 23-year-old as he blasted Archer for 6, 4, 4, 4 to reach the 150-run mark for the second time in his career.
Along with a veteran batter Nabi, Zadran added quick runs for the sixth wicket at over 11 runs an over as England fell apart spectacularly in the final 10 overs, conceding 113 runs. Zadran eventually fell to Liam Livingstone in the final over.
However, Livingstone too stayed out of the field to nurse what appeared to be a hamstring niggle.
