At Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium for game number thirteen of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, the defending champions squared off against Afghanistan. England won the toss and elected to field first, sticking with the same team. Afghanistan made one change to their starting lineup from the prior match, swapping Ikram Alikhil for Najibullah Zadran. Afghanistan scored 284 runs. Here is a recap of the first innings.
Afghanistan control the powerplay
The games at the Arun Jaitley Stadium have established themselves as high-scoring run-fests, with matches between India vs. Afghanistan and South Africa shattering multiple records.
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The English bowlers rarely gave the openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran any trouble. Early in the innings, Chris Woakes had trouble and opened with a wide ball down the leg side going for a boundary. Starting off with a maiden over, Reece Topley on the opposite end gave some control. In his second over, Woakes was hit for a six and a four, leading to 14 runs. Topley keeps up his precise line and length in his subsequent over, allowing only four runs.
Gurbaz was at his best as he smacked Woakes for back-to-back fours, leading to the English pacer’s third straight expensive over. In his subsequent over, Topley was also hit for a pair of fours after the left-arm seamer gave up 10 runs in his previous over. Woakes was replaced by Sam Curran, who was welcomed into the game with a boundary on his first pitch. The 50-run milestone was quickly reached by the Afghan openers in just 6.3 overs.
In just his second over, Curran bowled one of the poorest overs of this tournament, allowing 20 runs. In the all-rounder’s over, Gurbaz hit two fours and a six to build on the strong start. Afghanistan scored 79 runs overall, with the powerplay ending with a quiet 4-run over from Topley.
Afghanistan started the middle overs well
Right after the powerplay, Adil Rashid and Mark Wood entered the fray. Gurbaz reached his half-century in the 11th over in just 33 balls thanks to a four. In the subsequent overs, Gurbaz hit both Wood and Rashid for sixes, showing no signs of slowing off. In just 12.4 overs, Afghanistan reached their 100-run milestone.
In an even worse turn of events, Topley fielding at the fine leg boundary plunged while stopping a four, managed to injure himself and was forced to leave the pitch in the 16th over.
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English spinners take control
When Rashid dismissed Ibrahim Zadran in the 17th over, the 100-run opening stand was finally broken. The leg spinner dismissed Rahmat Shah in just his second over after stumping Afghanistan’s third batsman by Jos Buttler. As if things couldn’t get much worse for Afghanistan, the team’s captain, Hashmatullah Shahidi, runs out his partner, Gurbaz, on the very next ball. After scoring 80 runs in just 57 balls while hitting eight fours and four sixes, Gurbaz was run out.
Afghanistan had reached 123 runs after 19 overs for the loss of three wickets, but once Liam Livingstone was introduced from the other end, the reigning champions grabbed control of the batting, allowing only 16 runs in the following five overs. Woakes was reinserted into the assault, but his bad form persisted as he was hit for a six and a four, as well as giving up 10 runs in his first over of the new stint. After Azmattulah Omarzai was removed by Livingstone in the following over, Afghanistan lost their fourth wicket while only earning 38 runs.
After noting how much spin Livingstone was producing, Joe Root was included in the attack. On the first ball of his fourth over, Root took a wicket. On the first ball of his second over of the spell, Wood, who had been called back into the attack from the other end, got rid of Mohammad Nabi.
England controls death overs
Afghanistan have scored 216 runs while losing six wickets going into the final 10 overs. Rashid Khan joined Ikram Alikhil, who was poised to bat after being reinserted into the lineup. Rashid Khan began his innings aggressively.
Afghanistan just managed one boundary in the first four overs and failed to profit in the crucial overs. Only 17 runs were scored in the first four overs, which led to Rashid Khan’s removal. Adil Rashid was the target of Rashid’s big hoick in the 45th over, and Rashid even managed to make solid contact, but Root at long-on made an incredible catch to get rid of the 7th Afghan batter. Root caught the ball just inside the ropes by making a full-stretch dive to his right while sprinting to his right. There were only four runs and a wicket in the 45th over as well.
Mujeeb ur Rahman in the following over provided some much-needed boundaries for Afghanistan. Curran was smashed for two fours and a six. One of these four came off a waist-high no-ball to add salt to England’s wounds. hman scored yet another four in the following over which came off after finding an outside edge. Ikram completed his fifty in the same over in 60 balls. Alikhil was dismissed in the 48th over after scoring 58 runs in 66 balls hitting three fours and two sixes.
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