It was supposed to be just another Sunday stroll for Jos Buttler's England in Delhi. After all, they are the reigning world champions in both white-ball formats of cricket -- the seminal 50-over ODIs and the 20-over T20 -- and their opponents, Afghanistan, the second-lowest ranked team in the tournament. Then the unexpected happened. In one of the greatest shocks in the history of the game, the Afghans handed England a 69-run defeat at Arun Jaitley Stadium -- a result that many believe will give life to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in India. (Highlights | Scorecard | Report | Photos | Full Coverage)
This was the first defeat for England against Afghanistan in cricket, and it put their title defence in jeopardy. Afghanistan, one of the so-called minnows, are now on equal footing in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 points table with England -- two points each from their respective three matches.
With that, here's a look at the statistical highlights of the Afghanistan vs England cricket match:
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran of Afghanistan posted 114 runs for the first wicket in this game to provide the 324th occasion of a team posting a three-figure partnership in an innings in the World Cup. It also provided the third occasion of Afghanistan batters posting a three-figure partnership in an innings in the World Cup.
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- Their stand was the 81st occasion of a team posting a three-figure partnership in an innings in the World Cup for the first wicket. It also provided the first occasion of Afghanistan batters posting a three-figure partnership in an innings in the World Cup for the first wicket.
- Afghanistan were dismissed all out for 284 in this game to provide the 317th occasion of a team getting dismissed all out in an innings in the World Cup. This was the 13th time Afghanistan got dismissed all out in an innings in the World Cup, and their seventh all out in the first innings of a World Cup match. Overall, this was the 139th occasion of a team getting dismissed all out in the first innings of a World Cup match.
- Both Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Naveen-ul-Haq of Afghanistan were dismissed run out for 80 and five runs, respectively, in this game to provide the 569th and 570th occasion of batters getting dismissed in this fashion in an innings in the World Cup. It also provided the seventh and eighth occasion of Afghanistan batters dismissed run out in an innings in the World Cup.
- Their dismissals provided the 127th occasion of two or more batters getting run outs in an innings in the World Cup. It also provided the second occasion of two Afghanistan batters getting run outs in an innings in the World Cup. The breakup of 127 occasions read thus: Two occasions of five batters dismissed run out (in an innings), nine occasions of four batters dismissed run out, 25 occasions of three batters dismissed run out and 91 occasions of two batters dismissed run out.
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz of Afghanistan was run out for 80 in this game to provide the 78th occasion of a batter, and 28th time for an opener, getting run out in an innings in the World Cup after scoring fifty. It also provided the first occasion of an Afghanistan batter getting dismissed run out in an innings in the World Cup.
- Afghanistan posted 284 in this game for their second-best team total in an innings in the World Cup. Their previous best was 288 against the West Indies at Leeds on July 4, 2019.
- Ikram Alikhil of Afghanistan scored 58 in this game to provide the 126th occasion of a wicketkeeper-batter scoring a fifty in an innings in the World Cup. It also provided the second occasion of an Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batter scoring a fifty in an innings in the World Cup. Alikhil scored 86 against the West Indies in 2019.
- Joe Root of England took four catches during the Afghanistan innings to become the sixth fielder excluding wicketkeepers in an innings in the World Cup.
| Player | Catches | Innings | Team | Opp | Venue | Date |
| Mohammad Kaif | 4 | 2 | India | Sri Lanka | Johannesburg | 10-Mar-03 |
| Soumya Sarkar | 4 | 1 | Bangladesh | Scotland | Nelson | 05-Mar-15 |
| Umar Akmal | 4 | 1 | Pakistan | Ireland | Adelaide | 15-Mar-15 |
| Chris Woakes | 4 | 1 | England | Pakistan | Nottingham | 03-Jun-19 |
| Jonny Bairstow | 4 | 2 | England | Bangladesh | Cardiff | 08-Jun-19 |
| Joe Root | 4 | 1 | England | Afghanistan | Delhi | 15-Oct-23 |
- Harry Brook’s 66 provided the 404th occasion of a batter's fifty in a losing cause in the World Cup. It also provided the 38th occasion of an England batter's fifty going in vain in the tournament.
- England were dismissed for 215 to provide the 318th occasion of a team getting all out in the World Cup. It's the 179th occasion of a team getting dismissed all out while batting second. This was also the 14th occasion of England getting all out while batting second in the World Cup. Afghanistan were dismissed all out for 284 and England were dismissed all out for 215 in this game to provide the 22nd occasion of both teams dismissed all out in a World Cup game.
- Mohammad Nabi has now won international cricket matches against 43 countries while playing for Afghanistan. The triumphs range from minnows like Argentina, Italy, Bahrain to established sides like West Indies, Sri Lanka and now England.
- Afghanistan beat England by 69 runs to post their second World Cup win. Prior to this, they had defeated Scotland by one wicket at Dunedin on February 26, 2015.
Stats courtesy: HR Gopala Krishna – Veteran cricket statistician
