England are crumbling in their chase of 285 against Afghanistan in ODI 13 of the ongoing 2023 World Cup, in New Delhi. The Afghans have run riot in the second innings, with an excellent bowling display. Fazalhaq Farooqi struck early to remove opener Jonny Bairstow (2) and it was a sign of bad things to come for England. Since then, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi have taken two wickets each. Meawhile, Naveen-ul-Haq and Rashid Khan have scalped a dismissal each.
Afghanistan piled a stiff 284 on the board after being invited by England to bat first. The proceedings started with Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran giving Afghanistan a perfect start and added 114 in 16.1 overs for the first wicket. While Gurbaz did bulk of the scoring, Zadran played the second fiddle perfectly. Adil Rashid broke the partnership, following which Afghanistan endured a mini-collapse. Zadran fell for 28(48), while Gurbaz was run-out for 80(57).
Afghanistan lost three quick wickets and were reduced to 122/3 in 18.5 overs. The wickets continued to tumble until Rashid Khan and Ikram Alikhil took control. Rashid as usual played some stylish shot but was outdone by a brilliant effort by Joe Root at long-on. He fell for 23(22). Alikhil scored 58(66) before getting out to Reece Topley, while Mujeeb Ur Rahman hammered 28 in 16 balls.
Liam Livingstone returned with one scalp but was the most economical among the England bowlers, leaking just 33 runs in his full quota of overs. Adil Rashid scalped three, while Mark Wood struck twice. Joe Root and Reece Topley returned with one scalp each.
Meanwhile, England have fielded an unchanged playing XI, which means Ben Stokes remains on the sidelines. Afghanistan, on the other hand, made one change as Ikram Ali Khil replaces Najibullah Zadran.
– England win toss, opt to field
-England field same playing XI, Afghanistan make one change
-Rahmanullah Gurbaz slams 33-ball 50. He eventually departs for 80(57)
– Ikram Alikhil scored 58(66)
-Afghanistan are all-out for 284 in 49.5 overs
– Fazalhaq Farooqi removes opener Jonny Bairstow for 2.
– Joe Root falls to Mujeeb Ur Rahman for 11.
– Dawid Malan departs for 32, loses wicket to Mohammad Nabi
– Naveen-ul-Haq removes Jos Buttler for 9.
