How did Afghanistan defeat England in CWC 2023? Shocking Facts and Records to be known!!!

How did Afghanistan defeat England in CWC 2023?

Defending Champions shocking defeat in World Cup history? 

Here is the shocking news about how Afghanistan defeated England in CWC 2023. Can you believe it a team like Afghanistan which did not qualify for the World Cup knockout stages has defeated the defending Champions of World Cup 2019? What are the reasons behind Afghanistan’s Shocking victory of 69 runs against England in World Cup 2023?

This was the first time England lost to Afghanistan in the history of cricket and the first shock of the ICC World Cup 2023. Afghanistan after losing their first two matches against Bangladesh by 6 wickets and a massive 8 wickets loss against India, gave a resounding response by defeating the defending champions in ICC World Cup 2023 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on 15th October 2023( Sunday).

It was a nightmare for England cricketers as well as their fans who were hoping to win this match against Afghanistan with unrestraint, after losing their 1st match against New Zealand by 9 wickets and recovering later by winning their 2nd match against Bangladesh in this tournament.

Is it a massive improvement of the Afghanistan cricket team or the decline of the England Cricket Team? 

Let us find out the interesting and shocking facts behind Afghanistan’s 69-run victory over England in detail…

How did Afghanistan defeat England in CWC 2023? The Playing XI for Afghanistan and England to be known!!!

Here is the playing XI for both the teams- Afghanistan and England, to understand the answers to the most asked question in recent times “How did Afghanistan defeat England in CWC 2023”?  

Afghanistan Playing XI: 

1. Rahmanullah Gurbaz : Batsman and Wicket-Keeper
2. Ibrahim Zadran: Batsman
3. Rahmat Shah: Batsman
4. Hashmatullah Shahidi (Captain): Batsman
5. Najibullah Zadran: Batsman
6. Mohammad Nabi: Allrounder
7. Ikram Alikhil: Wicket-keeper and Batsman
8. Rashid Khan: Allrounder
9. Mujeeb Ur Rahman: Bowler
10. Naveen-ul-Haq: Bowler
11. Fazalhaq Farooqi: Bowler

England Playing XI: 

Afghanistan’s 1st innings with the bat started well by maintaining a 114-run opening partnership between Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, which became the 3rd highest partnership for Afghanistan in World Cups.

Though England’s Bowlers tried to grab quick wickets from Afghanistan’s Batsman, there seemed to be no interruption for the Afghans by aiming to post a high total.

Afghanistan opening batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz( 80 runs from 57 balls- including 8 fours and 4 sixes) and Ikram Alikhil (58 runs from 66 balls- including 3 fours and 2 sixes), guided their team to post a total of 284-10 in 49.5 overs, which is the 2nd highest total for Afghanistan in World Cups.

Afghanistan Batsman used the last 10 overs to score 68 runs by finding gaps to score as many runs as possible.

Though there were higher chances for Afghanistan to reach a score beyond the 300-run mark to make it their first-highest total in World Cup matches, a quick fall of 4 wickets during the last 10 overs, concluded with their 2nd highest total in overall World Cups.

Here are the best bowling figures of the England Bowlers from this match to restrict Afghanistan to a total of 284-10 in 49.5 overs:

1. Adil Rashid: 42-3 in 10 overs ( includes 1 maiden over)
2. Mark Wood: 50-2 in 9 overs.
3. Liam Livingstone: 33-1 in 10 overs.
4. Joe Root: 19-1 in 4 overs.
5. Reece Topley: 52-1 in 8.5 overs( includes 1 maiden over)

England Batting: 

England marked their 2nd innings with a shaky start by losing their opening batsman Jonny Bairstow(2 runs from 4 balls) at 3-1 in 1.1 overs of the match.

Except for Harry Brook’s supportive performance of 66 runs from 61 balls ( including 7 fours and 1 six), none of the England Batsmen were successful in making an impressive score against Afghanistan.

However, only 72 runs were required from the last 10 overs, but it was too late England’s batsmen succumbed to the Afghanistan bowlers by losing 9 wickets during that time.

England managed to score only 215-10 in 40.3 overs, which resulted in a 69-run shocking victory for Afghanistan against the defending champions.

England batsmen scored only 28 runs by losing 2 wickets between 20 to 30 overs and there was a maximum possibility of scoring the most number of runs to maximize their winning chances against Afghanistan.

When compared to the match between India and Afghanistan in this tournament at this venue, India chased the target of 273 runs against Afghanistan with a 9-wicket win by having control of their wickets on one side and the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma causing damage on the other side with his brilliant 131 runs from 84 balls.

How did Afghanistan defeat England in CWC 2023 after a massive loss against India? The main reason and the answer to this question can be clarified with the inconsistent partnership of English batsmen. Unlike the Indian Batsmen, England did not have control of their wickets and their unsteadiness to maintain a proper partnership despite having a higher chance to chase the target with convenience.

England batsmen failed to counter-attack against the spin bowlers provided with the best chasing conditions at this venue.

Here are the best bowling figures of Afghanistan bowlers against England in this match:

1. Mujeeb Ur Rahman: 51-3 in 10 overs ( includes 1 maiden over)
2. Rashid Khan: 37-3 in 9.3 overs ( includes 1 maiden over)
3. Mohammad Nabi: 16-2 in 6 overs
4. Naveen-ul-Haq: 44-1 in 6 overs ( includes 1 maiden over)
5. Fazalhaq Farooqi: 50-1 in 7 overs

How Did Afghanistan defeat England in CWC 2023: Decoding Afghanistan’s score of 284-10 in 49.5 Overs

Let us decode Afghanistan’s 1st innings score of  284-10 in 49.5 overs split into 10-over intervals:

• 0 to 10 overs: 79-0
• 10 to 20 overs: 46-3( Afghanistan’s score at 20 overs: 125-3) 
• 20 to 30 overs: 42-1( Afghanistan’s  score at 30 overs: 167-4) 
• 30 to 40 overs: 49-2( Afghanistan’s score at 40 overs: 216-6) 
• 40 to 50 overs: 68-4( Afghanistan’s  score at 49.5 overs: 284-10)

From the above facts, it becomes clear that Afghanistan scored a minimum number of 79 runs without even losing a wicket during the first 10 overs of the powerplay and lost a maximum number of 4 wickets by scoring 68 runs in the last 10 overs of the 1st innings.

How Did Afghanistan defeat England in CWC 2023: Decoding England’s score of 215-10 in 40.3 Overs

Let us decode England’s 2nd innings score of  215-10 in 40.3 overs split into 10-over intervals:

• 0 to 10 overs: 52-2
• 10 to 20 overs: 63-2( England’s score at 20 overs: 115-4) 
• 20 to 30 overs: 28-2( England’s score at 30 overs: 143-6) 
• 30 to 40 overs: 70-3( England’s score at 40 overs: 213-9) 
• 40 to 50 overs: 2-1( England’s score at 40.3 overs: 215-10)

England scored 52-2 in their first 10 overs of their powerplay which was less compared to Afghanistan’s score during that time. A maximum number of 70 runs was scored between 30 to 40 overs of the 2nd innings by losing most number of 3 wickets during that phase.

England batsmen scored only the lowest number of 28 runs between 20 to 30 overs by losing 2 wickets.

How did Afghanistan defeat England in CWC 2023: Shocking Facts and Records to be known 

1. Afghanistan records their win after a long time against the defending champions England in ICC World Cup 2023, following their previous win against Scotland in ICC World Cup 2015.
2. This is the highest powerplay score for Afghanistan (70-0 in 10 overs) in the World Cup against any opponents.
3. The 114-run partnership between Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz is the 3rd highest for Afghanistan in any wicket against its opponents in the World Cup.
4. England spinners have bowled the 2nd maximum number of overs (24 overs) in a World Cup innings, following the match against South Africa in ICC World Cup 2011 with a maximum number of 27 overs bowled by England Spin bowlers.
5. Afghanistan Batsman Ikram Alikhil is the highest-scoring batsman for Afghanistan in World Cups batting at the No.6 position with a score of 58 runs from 66 balls.
6. Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi scores the most number of half-centuries ( 3 ODI fifties) for his team in World Cups.
7. The score of 284-10 in 49.5 overs is the 2nd highest total for Afghanistan in World Cups.
8. Afghanistan all-rounder Rashid Khan recorded the 4th best bowling figures for Afghanistan by achieving 37-3 in 9.3 overs. 
9. Afghanistan spinners grabbed 8 wickets of the England batsman, which is the most number of wickets for any Afghanistan spin bowlers against its opponents in World Cups.
10. A total number of 13 wickets have been taken by spin bowlers from both teams ( Afghanistan-8 wickets and England-5- 5 wickets), which is the 3rd highest by both teams together in World Cup matches.
11. Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi (15 wickets) takes the most wickets for his team in World Cup matches.
12. Afghanistan concluded their 14 consecutive defeats in World Cup matches ( from 2015 to 2023), by winning against England with 69 runs. Also, this is the 3rd most consecutive defeat by any team in World Cups.

After knowing the above facts on how Afghanistan defeated England in CWC 2023, many interesting questions were raised among several cricket fans.

Can England retain the Defending Champions Title?  

How can England overcome this loss against Afghanistan? 

Can England make a comeback in their next match on 21st October 2023 against South Africa – one of the promising and entertaining teams of this tournament? 

Are there any chances for England to make it into the top 4 of the points table to qualify for the Semi-Finals of the ICC World Cup 2023 tournament? 

As the ICC World Cup 2023 has just started, there are many more exciting matches on the way to entertain the audience, which is filled with many unexpected twists and turns in this tournament that keep the hopes alive for England as well as other teams participating in this contest to make every match extensively special…