AFG Vs ENG, ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: Sensational Afghanistan Complete Shock Win Over England - As It Happened

The indomitable Afghan spirit conquered the odds to produce the shock of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 with a stunning 69-run win against defending champions England at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Sunday (October 15, 2023). Playing arguably their greatest World Cup game ever, Afghanistan, coached by Englishman Jonathan Trott, rattled England first with a 114-run opening stand that witnessed Rahmanullah Gurbaz's 80 off 57, then by a mixture of pace and spin. In between, Afghanistan -- a team that became an ICC Full Member in 2017 -- played the percentage game to perfection. Asked to bat first, Afghanistan got off to a flier only to suffer a middle-order collapse. But a resurrection act soon followed with young wicketkeeper-batter Ikram Alikhil leading the rearguard action, or rather sheperdin the tailenders. And the result: their second-highest World Cup total of 284 all out in 49.5 overs.

The defence started with quick wickets. By the 28th over, former captain Mohammad Nabi, in his 150th ODI match, got two wickets for what at the moment looked like magical figures of 2/11 in 4.1 overs. He was one of the five bowlers to take at least a wicket. England were 138/6 with Sam Curran being the latest wicket to fall. The likes of Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone had previously departed without really troubling the scorers. Harry Brook (66 off 61) did his best to thwart the ever-increasingly dominant Afghans, but the 24-year-old Yorkshireman became Mujeeb Ur Rahman's third scalp as Delhi stood witness to one of the greatest upsets in the history of the game. Rashid Khan, always in the thick of the action, also claimed three wickets as Afghanistan dismissed England for 215 all out in 40.3 overs. For the record, this was Afghanistan's first-ever win over England in cricket, and only the second win for the Afghans in the ODI World Cup (after their one-wicket win over Scotland in Dunedin in 2015). Up next, Afghanistan face New Zealand in Chennai on Wednesday, while England take on South Africa in Mumbai on Saturday. Catch highlights and scores of the ENG Vs AFG cricket match here. (Scorecard | Report | Stats | Photos | Full Coverage)

Result: Afghanistan won by 69 runs! England all out for 215 in 40.3 overs.

Brief scores:

Afghanistan: 284 all out in 49.5 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 80, Ikram Alikhil 58; Adil Rashid 3/42)
England: 215 all out in 40.3 overs (Harry Brook 66; Mujeeb Ur Rahman 3/51, Rashid Khan 3/37)

Mujeeb-ur-Rahman (10-1-51-3) is Player of the Match. And he dedicates the award "to the people back home who are affected by the earthquake."

9:30 pm: ENG - 215/10   Overs 31-40.3  Highlights
Brook hits a six off Mujeeb and continues to fight. Chris Woakes got a review for LBW and survived. Then Mujeeb struck again as Woakes got out on wrong 'un. Mujeeb Stikes again by getting Harry Brook out finally on 66. From there the match was one-sided. Adil Rashid and Mark Wood put up a partnership. But Rashid Khan broke that. Eventually, the nail in the coffin was Mark Wood's wicket and Rashid Khan delivered that for the Afghans.

9:28 pm: Three in a row from Reece Topley
England no. 11 batter Reece Topley smashed three boundaries in a row to Afghanistan's frontline bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi. Surely, England has a deep batting line-up.

9:22 pm: Reece Topley comes to the crease
Reece Topley comes as the last man of England's innings. With him is Mark Wood. Mark Wood in his interview said, "If I am out to bat, then it is not an ideal situation for my team. My team is in a difficult situation". And it is indeed a difficult situation for England here.

9:20 pm: One wicket away!
Rashid Khan gets the wicket of Adi Rashid and puts Afghanistan closer to the win. Just one more wicket and Afghanistan will do the biggest upset of the tournament.

9:15 pm: Afghanistan on the verge of writing history
Afghanistan have outperformed England in today's match and they are only two wickets away from a historic win against the most powerful team of the tournament.

8:38 pm: ENG - 143/6   Overs 21-30  Highlights
The last 10 overs were purely dominated by Afghan bowlers. They kept putting pressure and England batters never revoked out of that. Rashid Khan trapped Liam Livingstone LBW. England batters looked helpless against the spin bowling of Afghanistan. Only 28 runs off the last 10 overs for England. Brook kept going and completed his fifty. Nabi got the big wicket of Sam Curran. England need a good partnership now. Their in-depth batting lineup is a plus point but Afghan bowlers are up to something magical.

8:00 pm: ENG - 115/4   Overs 11-20  Highlights
Mohammad Nabi gets Malan out at short cover to give England a big surprise. Afghanistan bowlers kept bowling tight lengths and managed to stop the leakage of runs. Naveen-Ul-Haq bowled a beautiful in-decker and bowled Jos Buttler. Harry Brook kept hitting boundaries and kept moving the scoreboard. Rashid Khan gave 8 runs in his first over. After taking Buttler's wicket, Naveen leaked 3 boundaries and sifted the momentum. Afghanistan bowlers have bowled brilliantly so far and are looking in fine touch. England needs to stop losing wickets in quick succession and put up a good partnership.

7:10 pm: ENG - 52/2   Overs 1-10  Highlights
Fazalhaq Farooqi and Mujeeb bowled good lengths in the powerplay to keep the English batter silent. Farooqi got Bairstow LBW out on the very first ball of his over. Joe Root looked good but Mujeeb bowled him after he smashed a beautiful boundary off him. Malan kept moving and hit some boundaries in between. Harry Brook joined him at the crease and is looking fine with the bat so far. Afghan bowlers need a few more wickets from this English side.

6:20 pm: England's batting starts
England openers Jonny Bairstow and Dawid Malan are at the crease with the ball in Mujeeb Ur Rahman's hands. Mujeeb bowls a flighted delivery to Bairstow and he sends it to mid-off with a punch. England starts chase.

Innings Break!!

Afghanistan were on course for a 300-plus score against defending champions England in Delhi on Sunday. Asked to bat first in the 13th match of ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Rahmanullah Gurbaz hit a 57-ball 80 before being run out while his opening partner, Ibrahim Zadran, who scored 28 off 48, played the second fiddle. A first-wicket stand of 114 in 16 overs, and they looked prime for a big score. Then a middle-order collapse -- losing six wickets for 76 runs -- seemingly put a damper on their dreams. Yet still, a rearguard action ensured that the Afghans have a total to defend -- 284, which for the record is only four runs fewer than their highest World Cup total (288 vs West Indies in Leeds in 2019). Ikram Alikhil batted brilliantly for his 58 off 66. For England, Adil Rashid claimed three wickets (3/42). Afghanistan spinners, if they can take a leaf out of Bradford-born Rashid's book, will seriously test the famed England batting line-up featuring the likes of Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Jos Buttler. Yes, Afghans do have Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi.

Target set for England - 285 runs in 300 balls

6:00 pm: Stats Updates
This is Afghanistan's 2nd highest total in World Cups. The Highest was 288 vs West Indies in the 2019 World Cup at Leeds. Third-highest is 272 vs India in Delhi which they scored in their last match.

5:45 pm: AFG - 284/10   Overs 41-50  Highlights
Ikram Alikhil and Rashid Khan scored some crucial runs in the last 10 overs and kept on rotating strikes. England bowlers were not up to the mark and gave enough opportunities for Afghan batters to make runs. Rashid Khan lost his wicket trying to score big. Joe Root took a blinder to dismiss him. The new batter Mujeeb gave good support to Ikram and managed the score to reach 284 runs in 50 overs. Mujeeb smashed a four and then a six to Sam Curran. Ikram kept rotating the strike and Mujeeb also did the same. In the death overs, Ikram shifted gears and smacked Topley for a six and completed his fifty. Topley then dismissed him. Mujeeb also got out on the next ball and eventually, Afghanistan made 284/10 in 49.5 Overs.

4:55 pm: AFG - 216/6   Overs 31-40  Highlights
Earthquake tremors were felt in the Delhi-NCR region as the Match continued as it was recorded at 3.1 on the Richter scale. Afghanistan batters lost the direction in the last 10 overs as Hashmatullah Shahidi also went back to the pavilion after being bowled on Root's delivery. Mohammad Nabi gave some support to Ikram Alikhil but he was also sent back after trying to hit on Mark Wood's short delivery. Rashid Khan smashed some boundaries to start his innings. Ikram rotated the strike and took chances in between.

4:20 pm: Do's and Don'ts during an Earthquake, If you are inside

• Stay clear of windows, fireplaces, heavy furniture or appliances that may fall.
• Never rush to the doors or exist, as it may cause a stampede.
• Never use the lift in case of an earthquake or fire.
• If in a crowded area, take cover, stay calm and encourage others to do likewise.

4:20 pm: Earthquake tremors felt in Delhi-NCR region

4:10 pm: AFG - 167/4   Overs 21-30  Highlights
After losing wickets in quick succession, Afghanistan have gone slow and steady in the last 10 overs. Liam Livingstone and Adil Rashid continued the spin-attack and Afghan batters didn't take any risks them. Azmat hit a six and then a four on Chris Woakes, who looked very ordinary so far. Liam Livingstone then sent Azmatullah Omarzai back to let Afghanistan struggle for runs. Ikram Alikhil joined Hashmatullah on the crease and scored an early six and four to start his innings.

3:40 pm: AFG - 125/3  Overs 11-20  Highlights
After scoring 79 runs in the first powerplay without loss of any wicket, Afghan openers set the tone in batting and kept hitting boundaries in the first five overs after the powerplay as well. Gurbaz hit a boundary off Adil Rashid to complete his fifty, when he was introduced in the 11th over. Then Gurbaz targeted Mark Wood and smashed a six. Then he hit another six on Adil Rashid which covered a long distance. Ibrahim Zadran tried to do the same after drinks and lost his wicket on Rashid's bowling. Rashid then struck again after new batter Rahmat Shah was found out of the crease and Buttler stumped him. Captain joined Gurbaz and on the very first ball, got involved in a horrible misjudgement while taking a run which resulted in Gurbaz's dismissal. Once looking set Afghanistan, collapses in no matter of time. Azmatullah Omarzai joins Captain on the crease.

2:50 pm: AFG - 79/0  Overs 1-10  Highlights
Chris Woakes started abruptly with a wide boundary, but Reece Topley kept the length tight. But both Afghan openers took their time on the crease and kept scoring boundaries. Rahmanullah Gurbaz preferred the aerial route and slammed two sixes. Afghan batters looked confident and proved their mettle. England bowlers need more tightness and sharpness in their bowling. Gurbaz put up a flurry of boundaries. Both have managed to keep England under pressure. The pitch looked good and players got the reward for their shots. England still wicketless.

2:01 pm: Afghanistan's batting starts
Chris Woakes is bowling the first over from England's side and Rahmanullah Gurbaz with Ibrahim Zadran are opening the innings for Afghanistan. The first ball is wide and goes for a boundary. The Afghans are awarded five runs and it's a poor start from England.

1:37 pm: Playing XIs
England: Jonny Bairstow(w/c), Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Reece Topley

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi

1:35pm: Toss
England have won the toss and decided to bowl first in Delhi.

1:27pm: Pitch And Weather Conditions
Weather continues to stay hot in Delhi. As for the pitch, Dinesh Karthik and Lisa Sthalekar doing their pitch report say, "This is a pitch full of runs, not a lot of turn and there could be a bit of dew in the evening. Win the toss and bowl first, any total is chaseable."

1:11pm: Squads
England: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Jos Buttler(w/c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Reece Topley, Gus Atkinson, Moeen Ali, David Willey, Ben Stokes

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Ikram Alikhil, Abdul Rahman, Riaz Hassan, Noor Ahmad

12:56pm: Head-to-head Record
These two sides have faced each other twice in ODIs and England have come out triumphant in both the games. Can Afghanistan surprise the Three Lions today?

12:47pm: Greetings
Hello and welcome to match 13 of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 between England and Afghanistan in Delhi.

October 14, 2023, saw India Vs Pakistan get global eyeballs at the Cricket World Cup. Now, we turn our attention to match 13 of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 with England taking on Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium (formerly Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium) in Delhi. Afghanistan are battered and bruised with no wins and were recently thumped at the very same venue by India, by eight wickets. On the contrary, England, who lost to New Zealand in the tournament opener, are rejuvenated following their 137-run win against Bangladesh. Jos Buttler's side will start as favourites against Afghanistan, but cricket's a funny old game and anything could happen.