Afghanistan recorded an impressive win that should give them confidence against more established teams. Rahmanullah Gurbaz led with an 80, while Ikram Alikhil and Mohammad Nabi provided support with the bat.
England are in trouble here and must quickly score runs to bring themselves back into contention. Naveen replaces Nabi who leaked two boundaries. In this article, we will discuss about the top 5 matches of Afghanistan National Cricket Team Vs England Cricket Team Timeline.
1. 2010 World Cup
Afghanistan was in turmoil between 2001 and 2004, with war, insurgency and Taliban rule taking its toll. Refugee camp children would play cricket on dusty pitches with makeshift wickets made of tape. Their dream was one day representing their nation at a World Cup.
2023 marked their breakthrough, creating one of the greatest surprises ever witnessed when they stunned defending champion England by 69 runs at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Rahmanullah Gurbaz led with an outstanding 80 off 57 balls while Mujeeb Ur Rahman made waves by taking 3-51 as well as contributing with some attacking runs with both bat and ball.
Afghanistan had lost several games prior to reaching the tournament and many pundits dismissed their chances of reaching the final four as being unlikely. Yet their momentum kept building: in 2013, Afghanistan won the ACC T20 Cup (for Asian teams without Test nation status). This victory provided them with much-needed confidence in pushing onward.
Shortly after, they hosted their inaugural ever full series against one of the top eight ranked full members: Zimbabwe and won both five-match ODI and three-match T20 series convincingly.
Afghanistan’s triumph against England marked an historic first in World Cup history and an official bilateral series against an ICC Full Member nation – particularly after an earthquake struck Afghanistan last October that killed more than two thousand and displaced hundreds of thousands – giving hope and delighting Afghans worldwide. Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan noted this win will put “a smile on everyone’s faces”, though England remained hopeful of making the semi-finals against South Africa next matchup.
2. 2015 World Cup
After an unsatisfying run of form involving losses to India and Bangladesh, England’s hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup took another hit after Afghanistan managed an unexpected 69-run win on their home pitch – marking England’s first ever ODI defeat at home as well as Afghanistan’s greatest ever success at major tournament.
Afghanistan’s spinners tore through England as they bowled them out for 215. Only Jonny Bairstow offered any resistance, scoring a fine fifty comprising six fours and one six before eventually falling prey to left-arm fast bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi in the second over.
Afghanistan’s seamers then dismantled England’s top order with ease, taking eight wickets between Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman – Bairstow was caught at slip off Nabi for a duck before Jos Buttler edged by Rashid Khan to midwicket for Rashid Khan to catch.
Afghanistan bowlers continued their torment of England’s batting in the second innings, with Rashid Khan and Nabi each taking four wickets each. Nabi bowled an over which saw Harry Brook hit two boundaries before soon after bowling him for 19.
England’s defiance in the face of an existential threat to their World Cup campaign was admirable but ultimately fruitless. Jos Buttler scored an important innings that enabled England to avoid whitewash but their top order collapsed as they chased an unachievable target; ultimately they were bowled out for 215 runs in 40 overs, with Rashid Khan and Nabi taking eight and nine wickets respectively.
3. 2016 World Cup
Afghanistan cricket team had its inaugural World Cup match against Zimbabwe – the sole full member test playing team present – and managed to win their opening game, progressing into the second phase. Unfortunately, they went on to lose both subsequent matches which proved devastatingly damaging.
After defeating Pakistan in an ODI game at Sharjah, Afghanistan managed to score an impressive total and win by five wickets – this historic win marks the first time ever that an untested Test playing team had successfully won an ODI against an established full member country, marking an immense accomplishment on an international stage for them.
Following that, they played Ireland and Scotland and won both matches to advance to the second round. Finally, they defeated Netherlands to top their pool – marking a significant first win ever at any World Cup competition for this team!
The team then faced Bangladesh in the final and lost, which dealt a severe blow to their hopes of making it to the semi-finals. Following this shock loss, they lost two games later on before being completely ousted from tournament. It was a moment they will never forget; one that changed cricket forever – it impacted on team culture too! Now they must work harder towards becoming top of rankings once more.
4. 2017 World Cup
Afghanistan returned to Delhi a year after their huge World Cup upset, intent on creating another big surprise – this time against England, who were defeated by 69 runs in an exciting encounter, falling down the table into sixth position in Group D while Afghanistan rose into fifth, just one point behind.
Afghanistan achieved something that seemed inconceivable back in 2014 when they first began rising through the international rankings: becoming champions. Now, however, that dream has come true and represents an outstanding feat from a team which has only played two ODIs prior to this tournament.
Afghanistan dominated this contest through their batting, led by Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran who both excelled with their bat. Both preferring to take their time on the crease while striking boundaries when possible; Gurbaz particularly took to attacking Chris Woakes by hitting two sixes off him!
Mohammad Nabi claimed the wicket of Dawid Malan while Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman took wickets as well – ultimately it was an impressive demonstration by spin; unfortunately England faltered under its pressure and crumbled under pressure.
5. 2018 World Cup
After much anticipation, Afghanistan and England finally met for an ODI matchup on April 29. Both teams wanted the match to be memorable; England needed a win to remain in contention while Afghanistan were looking for their inaugural World Cup win ever. Both sides put their best effort forward to ensure it would be memorable encounter.
Afghanistan created even more history on Sunday by upstaging India by 69 runs – an astounding result that marked one of the biggest upsets ever witnessed at World Cup history and marked Afghanistan’s biggest win to date – something they had longed for over nearly 10 years.
Afghanistan showed immense resilience in their quest to defeat England despite suffering devastating earthquake-related damage in their home country. Eoin Morgan made history with his 71-ball 148, breaking numerous records such as most sixes scored during an ODI innings and many others.
Next came England’s must-win encounter against New Zealand – one which would determine their chances of remaining in the group stage or exiting early – but instead suffered an embarrassing loss that saw them reduced to 10 men for most of the final overs.
Also Read: Pakistan national cricket team vs australian men’s cricket team timeline
