 "ENG vs AFG, Champions Trophy: Fan joins Afghanistan players' celebration after win against England (WATCH)")
synopsis
As soon as Omarzai sealed the victory for the team, all Afghanistan players gathered around and celebrated the side’s first win in their Champions Trophy debut together.
An Afghanistan cricket fan invaded the pitch and joined the team’s celebration after a thrilling eight-run win against England in the Group B Champions Trophy clash at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Wednesday, February 26.
After posting a hefty total of 325/6, thanks to Ibrahim Zadran’s scintillating knock of 177 off 146 balls, Afghanistan bowlers did a fantastic job by bundling out England for 317 in 49.5 overs despite a century from Joe Root (120 off 111 balls). Azmatullah Omarzai was the star performer of the ball as he picked a fifer while conceding 58 runs at an economy rate of 5.9 in 9.5 overs. Omarzai picked two crucial wickets of Root and Jamie Overton to turn the tables around for Afghanistan.
Apart from Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi chipped in by taking two wickets, while Fazalhaq Farooqi, Gulbadin Naib and Rashid Khan picked a wicket each. When England needed 9 runs off 2 balls to win, Azmatullah Omarzai picked the final wicket for Afghanistan by dismissing Adil Rashid. As soon as Omarzai sealed the victory for the team, all Afghanistan players gathered around and celebrated the side’s first win in their Champions Trophy debut together.
While Afghanistan players were celebrating the victory, a fan seemed to have breached the security and invaded the pitch to join the team’s jubilant celebrations. In a video posted by ICC on its Instagram handle, a police officer can be seen attempting to intervene and pull them away from Afghanistan's victory celebration, but the enthusiastic supporter was holding on to Gulbadin Naib. The fan was eventually escorted off the field by the security officials at the Gaddafi Stadium.
WATCH: Afghanistan players' victory celebration
The Group B match between England and Afghanistan was crucial for both sides as defeat would knock out either of two teams from the Champions Trophy 2025. It was Afghanistan who held their nerve and delivered a spirited performance to eliminate England from the tournament and keep their semi-final hopes alive.
Afghanistan had a disappointing start to their maiden Champions Trophy campaign as they suffered a 107-run defeat at the hands of South Africa. However, Hashmatullah Shahidi-led made a brilliant comeback with a thrilling win in order to stay alive in the tournament. Until Joe Root’s dismissal, Afghanistan were staring at a defeat, as the England batter was anchoring the chase with a century. However, Omarzai’s crucial breakthrough by dismissing Root turned the tide in Afghanistan’s favour.
Meanwhile, this was not the first time Afghanistan defeated England in an ICC tournament. Hashmatullah Shahidi and his boys pulled off one of the best upsets in the ODI World Cup, defeating England by 69 in Delhi in 2023.
‘Our nation will be happy’: Hashmatullah Shahidi
Speaking at the post-match presentation after a thrilling win against England, Hashmatullah Shahidi stated that the entire Afghanistan would be happy with the win. He added that the team is improving daily while admitting that the match against England was a tense game. Shahidi also reflected on his partnership with Ibrahim Zadran.
“As a team we are happy. Our nation will be happy with this win. Moving on to the next game. We beat them for the first time in 2023. We are improving day by day. Today was a tense game. We controlled it well. I am happy with the result.” Afghanistan skipper said.
“Zadran is a talented guy. We were three down at the beginning and the pressure was on. The partnership between me and him was crucial. One of the best ODI knocks that I have seen. Azmat played a good knock. Played with positive intent.” he added.
Shahidi is hoping that the team would take the same momentum into their final group stage match against Australia.
“We have talented youngsters and some senior guys. Everyone knows their role. Everyone is doing good. Hopefully, we will take the momentum to the game versus Australia.” he said.
Afghanistan will look to officially qualify for the semifinal when they take on Australia in the final group stage match at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on February 28.
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