Thanks to a brilliant innings from Ibrahim Zadran, Afghanistan has posted a total of 325 runs against England.
After being caught on the boundary while attempting a slog sweep off Liam Livingstone, Ibrahim Zadran walked towards the dressing room. Opposing players, teammates, and the crowd applauded him for his performance. As he walked off the field, the Afghan opener raised his bat in acknowledgment, marking a moment of excellence.
Ibrahim has set a record in the Champions Trophy with his extraordinary batting performance, registering the highest individual score in the tournament.
On Wednesday in Lahore, Ibrahim played a stunning knock of 177 runs against England. His 146-ball innings included 6 sixes and 12 fours.
Just last Saturday, Ben Duckett had set the record for the highest personal score in the Champions Trophy with 165 runs against Australia. However, this record didn’t last even a week, as Ibrahim’s incredible knock surpassed it. Duckett, now watching from the field, saw his own record broken. As Ibrahim left the field, Duckett patted him on the back in admiration.
Ibrahim also broke another record, one that he already held. His 177 runs surpass his previous highest score of 162 runs for Afghanistan in ODIs.
With Ibrahim Zadran’s superb innings, Afghanistan posted 325 runs for 7 wickets. This marks the first time Afghanistan has crossed the 300-run mark in four ODIs against England.
England now faces a tough challenge. No team has successfully chased such a high total against Afghanistan. The highest chase was 314 runs by Sri Lanka in 2022.
After winning the toss and choosing to bat against England, Afghanistan had a rough start, losing 3 wickets for just 37 runs and finding themselves under heavy pressure. During this difficult period, Ibrahim, alongside Hashmatullah Shahidi, steadied the ship.
The two played cautiously and began to build their partnership, with Ibrahim reaching his fifty off 65 balls. Unfortunately, Shahidi couldn’t make it to fifty and was bowled by Adil Rashid for 40 runs, including 3 fours. Their important 103-run partnership was broken.
After Shahidi’s dismissal, Ibrahim, along with Azmatullah Omarzai, continued to lead the team forward. It was during this partnership that Ibrahim brought up his sixth career century, reaching the landmark off 106 balls.
On the other end, Omarzai contributed swiftly, hitting 3 sixes and 1 four to score 41 off 31 balls before he was dismissed. Their partnership added 72 runs to the total.
After reaching his century, Ibrahim slowed down the pace, but still managed to reach 150 off 134 balls. Meanwhile, Mohammad Nabi kept the runs flowing at the other end.
Ibrahim played his career-best innings and was dismissed in the final over, breaking his partnership with Nabi, which had produced 111 runs off 55 balls. Nabi played a cameo, scoring 40 runs off 24 balls, with 3 sixes and 2 fours.
