England are chasing 326 to win the match against Afghanistan in Lahore and stay alive in the Champions Trophy. The side has been well below-par in ODI cricket in recent times and now they are being tested to the core.
Chasing 326 to win, England opened with Phil Salt and Ben Duckett. The southpaw headed into this game after a brilliant 165 against the Aussies in a losing cause.
England did not have a good start to the chase with Phil Salt being the first to go. He was dismissed by Azmatullah Omarzai as he tried to play across the line and was bowled. He scored 12 off 13 balls. Jamie Smith the young wicket-keeper batsman was promoted to bat at number three. He played out a few dot balls to start his innings.
Root-Duckett Steady England After Early Wickets
Looking to take on the spinner, he was dismissed by Mohammad Nabi in the very first delivery of his spell. The young keeper-batsman tried to play across the line and was caught just outside the 30-yard circle. England were two down inside the first seven overs.
Since then Ben Duckett and Joe Root have steadied the ship for England. Previously, Ibrahim Zadran scored 177 off 146 balls and anchored the Afghanistan innings. He broke all sorts of records during his knock. He now has the highest individual score for Afghanistan in ODIs. He also has the highest individual score in a Champions Trophy game, bettering Duckett's 165 against Australia.
"It’s not easy to come back to international cricket, I have come back to international cricket after 7 months but I hadn’t played ODI cricket since the last 1 year. The expectations were there on me and I played well. I put myself under pressure and I enjoyed this innings. I tried to take my time, I worked on my basics, I don’t want to think anything extra. I try to be disciplined" said Zadran on his knock in the mid-innings break.
Heading into this encounter both Afghanistan and England lost their respective first games. England lost to Australia while Afghanistan lost to South Africa. Thus this game is a virtual knockout game for both teams. The team that wins this contest prevails in this tournament while the loser will be eliminated.
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