Afghanistan vs England highlights, Champions Trophy 2025: Afghanistan win by 8 runs; England knocked out

Azmatullah Omarzai to Jamie Smith, Hard length, on top of off, Smith opens the face of the bat to guide it to deep third man for a single.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Jamie Smith, Nagging length, around middle, Jamie Smith gets opened up and drops it down with the full face of the bat.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Jamie Smith, FOUR! TOP SHOT! Goes fuller but on the pads, easy for Jamie Smith as he leans on a bit and uses his wrists to flick it away towards mid-wicket for a boundary.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Jamie Smith, Good length, around off, Smith dabs it to backward point.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Ben Duckett, Leg bye! Hard length, around middle, coming in with the angle, Ben Duckett looks to flick it but misses and gets hit on the front pad. They run in for a single as the ball rolls away towards square leg.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Jamie Smith, On a good length, around off, Jamie Smith punches it aerially towards mid on. Just ahead of the Rashid Khan there. 

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Jamie Smith, Drags his length, and changes the line to the off stump, Smith defends it.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Jamie Smith, Goes fuller, around middle, with inswing but slower in pace, Jamie Smith comes forward and turns it to mid-wicket.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Jamie Smith, FOUR! TIMED IT BEAUTIFULLY! Hard length and touch outside off, Jamie Smith stands tall and punches in the gap towards cover off the back foot for a boundary.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Jamie Smith, From around the wicket, on middle, hard length, Jamie Smith punches it to cover off the back foot.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Ben Duckett, Leg bye! On a good length, around middle and leg, jags back in, Ben Duckett looks to flick it but gets a faint inside edge. He runs in for a single as the ball rolls away after hitting the front pad towards square leg.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Jamie Smith, Similar length, and on the fourth stump, Jamie Smith punches it again but straight to cover point.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Jamie Smith, Hard length, on top of off, Jamie Smith stands tall and punches it hard but straight to cover.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Jamie Smith, Lands it fuller and outside off, Smith comes forward and drives it straight to extra cover.

Jamie Smith is in at number 3.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Phil Salt, OUT! BOWLED! Afghanistan get their first wicket and it is Azmatullah Omarzai who has drawn the first blood for them. He runs in from over the wicket and bowls on a good length, around middle, coming in with the angle, Phil Salt misjudged the length and he goes for a pull shot from the front foot but misses. The ball sneaks through under the bat and rattles the middle stump. England are 19/1.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Ben Duckett, Hard length, outside off, Ben Duckett waits for it and chops it out to deep third for a single.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Phil Salt, Good length and outside off, Salt uses the pace and guides it to deep third man for a single.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Ben Duckett, Slower ball, full, around middle, Ben Duckett leans on and uses his wrists to flick it in the gap towards deep backward square leg for a couple of runs.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Phil Salt, Could have been chopped on! Full again but with pace this time, touch outside off, Phil Salt throws his hands at it and looks to drive it with no foot movement and gets a thick inside edge that goes past the leg stump for a single.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Phil Salt, Slower, pace off, fuller and outside off, Phil Salt almost gets deceived by the lack of the pace and checks his shot but manages to keep it down to mid off.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Phil Salt, Hard length, on the pads, angling in, Phil Salt opens up and flicks it away in the gap towards deep square leg for a couple of runs.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Phil Salt, Goes fuller, around off, a hint of inswing, Phil Salt comes forward and drives it to mid off.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Phil Salt, Around off, on a length, Phil Salt stands tall and flat bats at it to mid on.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Ben Duckett, Can't find the gap again! On a good length, around off, Duckett cuts it hard but straight to the point fielder. 

Azmatullah Omarzai to Ben Duckett, Hard length, touch outside off, Duckett stabs it to cover point off the front foot.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Ben Duckett, FOUR! DISPATCHED! Goes fuller, in the slot, a bit slower as well, wide outside off, Ben Duckett lunges, gets to the pitch of the ball, and creams the drive in the gap towards cover for a boundary. That also brings up 1000 runs in ODIs for Duckett.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Ben Duckett, Slightly fuller, but on the pads, easy for Duckett as he leans on and clips it to mid-wicket.

Azmatullah Omarzai to Ben Duckett, On a good length, around off, Ben Duckett hangs back and taps it to extra cover. 

Azmatullah Omarzai to Ben Duckett, Starts with a full ball, seaming in, from over the wicket, on middle, Ben Duckett comes forward and uses his wrists to flick it to mid-wicket.

Who will bowl from the other end? It will be Azmatullah Omarzai.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Phil Salt, On a good length, around off, Salt drops it down to cover .

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Phil Salt, BEATEN! Goes slightly fuller, around off, gets the ball to shape away, on the seam, Phil Salt is drawn forward and he looks to defend it but gets beaten on the outside edge.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Phil Salt, FOUR! SECOND OF THE OVER AND THE SLIP HAS GONE OUT! Hard length, width on offer, well outside off, Phil Salt stands tall and punches it off the back foot in the gap towards extra cover for another boundary. 

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Phil Salt, Comes around the wicket, on a good length, around middle, coming in with the angle, on middle and leg, Phil Salt hops up a bit and looks to flick it but misses and gets hit on the front pad. There is a mild appeal for LBW but is turned down by the umpire.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Phil Salt, Back of a length, around off, Salt dabs it to backward point off the back foot.

Fazalhaq Farooqi to Phil Salt, FOUR! ENGLAND UNDERWAY STRAIGHTAWAY! Fazalhaq Farooqi bowls it fuller, around off, from over the wicket, Phil Salt just comes forward and thrashes it in the gap towards wide mid off for a boundary to get off the mark. Some start to this chase!

We are back for the all-important run chase! The umpires are back out in the middle and so are the players of Afghanistan. Ben Duckett does come out to open the innings for England alongside Phil Salt. Fazalhaq Farooqi will get proceedings underway with the ball, A slip in place, let's go...

... The Run Chase ...

Right then, Afghanistan boasts a potent bowling attack, and with ICC Champions Trophy 2025 survival hanging in the balance, the pressure is mounting. England will need to dig deep and produce a remarkable batting performance to overcome this significant hurdle but the pitch is pristine for batting as well. The stage is set for a thrilling contest! Join us in a bit for the run chase.

The man of the moment, Ibrahim Zadran is up for a quick chat. He says that it is a bit easy to make a comeback in international cricket with 50-overs cricket as you get enough time to settle in. Adds that the expectations were high for him as he hasn’t played this format for the past year and he is happy that he has played that kinda inning. Mentions that he tries to put himself under pressure to play a good knock and he has enjoyed it. He says that he was trying to correct his basics when he was resting as he just wanted to keep everything simple and not overdo anything. He thinks that the discipline is very important. Talks about his coach Jonathan Trot as he shares his experience with the rest of the team as he has played a lot of cricket in Afghanistan. Concludes it by saying, during the net sessions, he has talked to him on several occasions and Trot has said to him to play a long inning and he is happy that he did that exactly.

England on the other hand started strongly as Jofra Archer wreaked havoc in the first 10 overs but they lost their way in the last 25 overs, allowing Afghanistan to post a formidable total. The injury to Mark Wood forced skipper Jos Buttler to rely on part-time bowlers, which ultimately benefited the Afghan batters. Jofra Archer had a promising start, claiming three wickets, but his later overs were expensive, undoing some of the early good work. To make matters worse, England also have a couple of more injury concerns with Ben Duckett going off the field early on and then towards the end, Liam Livingstone also had an issue with his right knee, which will only add to their challenges in the run chase.

Afghanistan's innings didn't get off to the best start, losing three early wickets, including Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal, and Rahmat Shah. However, Ibrahim Zadran and skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi steadied the ship with a solid 103-run partnership for the fourth wicket. This laid the perfect foundation for the rest of the batsmen to come in and play aggressively. Azmatullah Omarzai and Mohammad Nabi took full advantage of the platform set, coming in and playing some explosive cricket, finding the fence regularly. Meanwhile, Ibrahim Zadran continued to anchor the innings, scoring boundaries and keeping the scoreboard ticking. In the end, Ibrahim top-scored with a magnificent century, while Shahidi and Azmatullah Omarzai chipped in with valuable contributions in the 40s. Mohammad Nabi provided the finishing touches to help Afghanistan post a challenging total on the board.

We've reached the midway break in this thrilling contest, and Afghanistan has managed to post an impressive total of 325 runs on the board! The star of the show was undoubtedly Ibrahim Zadran, who played a sensational innings, scoring 177 big runs. 113 runs from the last 10 overs show how good a pitch this is to bat on as well!

Liam Livingstone to Gulbadin Naib, Swing and a miss! A dot to end proceedings but Afghanistan have done a stellar job here. Liam Livingstone gives it a real rip and bowls it a shade fuller on middle and leg. Gulbadin Naib goes down on one knee, looking to swing it away but is beaten in the flight. Afghanistan finish with 325/7 on the board!

Liam Livingstone to Rashid Khan, Flighted up around off, Rashid Khan sits down and swings across the line but gets a top edge fine of short third for a single.

Rashid Khan comes out to bat.

Liam Livingstone to Mohammad Nabi, OUT! CAUGHT! Gets another one does Liam Livingstone! Bowls this one short on middle and gets this one to just grip. Mohammad Nabi hangs deep in the crease and goes hard at the pull but skews it high up in the air towards long on. Joe Root settles himself under the ball and pouches it safely. End of a fine cameo by Nabi as he perishes for 40 off 24 balls.

Liam Livingstone to Gulbadin Naib, On a dragged length and at the stumps, heaved away down to long on for just a single. Good over so far from Liam.

Liam Livingstone to Gulbadin Naib, Tossed up, very full and on leg, Gulbadin Naib goes hard at the slog sweep but misses and gets hit on the pads.