Lahore: Ibrahim Zadran’s majestic 177 and pacer Azmatullah Omarzai’s fifer trumped Joe Root’s masterful hundred, as brave Afghanistan registered a thrilling 8-run win to knock a largely-insipid England out of the Champions Trophy here on Wednesday.
England are winless after two matches and in their last league match in Group B they will face South Africa, who already have three points along with Australia.
Afghanistan now have two points and will have to beat the Aussies in their final group match to entertain the hopes of reaching the last eight.
For a long time, England’s chase merely rattled along as the dismissal of Phil Salt and Jamie Smith jolted them early. They were 30 for two then, and eventually ended up at 317 all out with a ball to spare as pacer Omarzai (5/58) struck at crucial junctures.
But Root (120, 111b, 11×4, 1×6) brought stability to England’s innings through two alliances, adding 68 runs with Ben Duckett (38), who was dropped on 29, for the third wicket and then an 83-run stand with skipper Jos Buttler for the fifth wicket.
They were not really blazing partnerships but kept England afloat, keeping them in the vicinity of the asking rate.
But the jettisoning of Duckett and Buttler prematurely curtailed those blossoming joint ventures, as Root had to shoulder the burden all by himself.
Root’s was a clever innings, as he hardly hit any ball in anger but still managed a strike-rate close to 100, and at times above 100.
But there those little flourishes which are so central to a Root innings such as a reverse sweep four off wrist spinner Noor Ahmad or a scooped six behind wicketkeeper off Fazalhaq Farooqi.
He brought up his 17th ODI hundred with a single off Rashid Khan, and looked to stay on. But a rather tired ramp off pacer Omarzai ended in the gloves of keeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
But England had another willing soldier in Jamie Overton (32, 28b), who added precious 54 runs for the seventh wicket, but a feeble heave off Omarzai ended his stint.
It also marked the end of England’s journey in this tournament.
Earlier, Zadran’s remarkable innings helped Afghanistan pile 325 for seven.
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.
But Afghanistan’s start to a must-win game was way off the mark after they elected to bat first. 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 onto 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.
