England have been set 326 to keep their Champions Trophy semi-final hopes alive following a remarkable Afghanistan fightback led by opener Ibrahim Zadran’s stunning 177 in Lahore.
Jofra Archer’s three-wicket burst left Afghanistan on 37 for three in one of two clashes England must win to avoid Group B elimination after losing their tournament opener to Australia at the weekend.
But that was about as good as it got for England as Afghanistan rebuilt through Zadran anchoring the innings and they added 222 runs off the last 25 overs and 113 from the final 10 to post 325 for seven.
Perhaps more worrying is a left knee injury to Mark Wood, who first pulled up midway through his fourth over and briefly left the field upon its completion.
While he was able to return and sent down eight overs in total, he was down on pace and hobbling between deliveries, leaving England short of options.
Wood’s absence meant Liam Livingstone was entrusted with the 50th over and he claimed a couple of cheap wickets, including Zadran, who clattered six sixes and a dozen fours in a 146-ball knock that is a new tournament record, overtaking Ben Duckett’s 165 made against Australia at the weekend.
Jos Buttler’s side were run ragged by the end although they may benefit from the evening dew later, which boosted Australia during their chase.
The build-up saw England face pressure to boycott this contest in protest at the scaling-back of women’s rights in Afghanistan but, after the England and Wales Cricket Board rejected the calls, Buttler wished for this game to be a “source of hope” during an “obviously a tough time”.
Some disciplined lengths frustrated Afghanistan’s openers and, when Archer went fuller, Rahmanullah Gurbaz could not resist but a loose drive took an inside edge and crashed into his stumps, via a pad.
It was Archer’s 50th ODI wicket in just his 30th match – the quickest Englishman to reach the landmark – and he had his 51st in the same over when he beat Sediqullah Atal for pace, trapping him lbw.
Wood troubled Zadran but was ramped for six, just out of the reach of Archer, who had his third when Rahmat Shah, fresh from making 90 against South Africa last week, half-heartedly pulled to Adil Rashid.
England were all over Afghanistan but problems had already started as Wood required treatment before sending down two 90mph-plus deliveries to complete his fourth over then hobbling off.
Zadran and Hashmatullah Shahidi took minimal risks and were initially progressing at a crawl but the former belting Rashid back over his head for six was the precursor to Afghanistan’s batters upping the tempo.
Joe Root kept it tight but he and Livingstone failed to trouble either of the Afghanistan pair, while Jamie Overton was taken to task by Ibrahim, which included him stepping back and smashing over extra cover for six.
Rashid ended a 103-run stand when Shahidi misjudged the length and was bowled after missing a reverse sweep but Azmatullah Omarzai cleared the boundary three times in his 31-ball 41 to put England under the pump.
Zadran brought up a 106-ball hundred with a single before Omarzai went for one big hit too many and picked out substitute fielder Tom Banton in the deep.
It was a rare moment of relief for England with Wood slower in his second spell and expensive while Archer saw his penultimate over disappear for 20 as Zadran and Mohammad Nabi (40 off 24 balls) made hay.
The 47th, bowled by Root, disappeared for 23 and while Zadran holed out in the final over, Afghanistan could feel pleased with their total.
