Men’s ODI WC: Gurbaz, Alikhil fifties carry Afghanistan to a competitive 284 against England

Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ikram Alikhil slammed half-centuries in carrying Afghanistan to 284 in 49.5 overs against England in match 13 of the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here on Sunday.

Afghanistan were cruising on a flat pitch at 111-0 in 16 overs, with Gurbaz being unstoppable in his knock of 80 off 53 balls, capitalising on loose balls from England’s fast bowlers. But Adil Rashid led a vicious spin web to trigger an Afghanistan collapse, taking his best-ever World Cup figures of 3-42.

From 190-6, Alikhil made 58 off 66 balls and was supported by cameos from Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman for Afghanistan to finish with a competitive total. Pushed into batting first, Gurbaz began his scintillating show by pulling a wayward Chris Woakes over mid-wicket for six, followed by Ibrahim Zadran cutting him for four past a sloppy Jonny Bairstow.

Gurbaz cashed on struggles of Woakes over a flat pitch by driving and slicing off him for back-to-back boundaries, followed by him and Zadran taking a four each off Reece Topley. Post Afghanistan reaching its fifty in just 43 balls, there was just no respite for England’s bowlers.

Sam Curran, brought into the attack in place of Woakes, there was no change as the left-arm pacer bowled a no-ball on the second delivery of the ninth over and Gurbaz smacked him for two boundaries through cover and fine leg before hammering a pull over mid-wicket for six, as 20 runs came off ninth over.

Post Afghanistan making 79-0 in first power-play, its best-ever start in a World Cup, Gurbaz reached his fifty in 33 balls by sweeping Adil powerfully past square leg for four. He took a liking to Mark Wood’s raw-pace by upper-cutting over backward point for six and pulling to take another boundary.

After an hour of being under the pump, England had a breakthrough as Zadran heaved straight to short mid-wicket off Adil, followed by the leg-spinner having Rahmat Shah stumped cheaply. One brought two for England as Gurbaz was run-out for 80 after going for a non-existent single.

Seeing Rashid fetching wickets, England brought in Liam Livingstone and Joe Root from both ends – a move which worked wonders as Azmatullah Omarzai miscued loft to long-off and Hashmatullah Shahidi was castled by the latter, followed by Mohammad Nabi being bounced out by Wood.

Rashid got the loudest cheer of the day from the crowd when he got off the mark with a superb drive through extra-cover for four off Wood and hit two more boundaries as Afghanistan went past 200. He found support from Alikhil, who took two fours off Topley in a nice 43-run stand.

But Rashid fell in a bid to attack against Adil, as Root took a stunning diving catch in the outfield. Mujeeb played a crucial hand by hammering boundaries off Curran, second of which was off a no-ball.

He then pulled Curran on a free-hit over mid-wicket for six and got an outside edge off Wood for four, followed by Alikhil getting his third ODI fifty. But he and Mujeeb holed out in quick succession, followed by Naveen-ul-Haq being run-out as Afghanistan’s innings ended one ball short of completing 50 overs.

Brief Scores: Afghanistan 284 in 49.4 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 80, Ikram Alikhil 58; Adil Rashid 3-42, Mark Wood 2-50) against England