While the Kiwis handed over a humiliating defeat to the Aussies in the first match of the Super 12, the Brits won against Afghanistan in the second game. In the second match of the Super 12 Group 1, England defeated Afghanistan by 5 wickets in a low-scoring game. Young all-rounder Sam Curran (5/10) scalped a fifer in the match.
After winning the toss, England chose to bowl first. Afghan openers Hazratullah Zazai and Gurbaz went back to the pavilion without making any impact. Ibrahim Zadran (32) and Usman Ghani (30) shined with the bat. But the rest of the batters failed completely and were clueless against England’s bowling attack. While Sam Curran claimed a fifer, Ben Stokes (2/19) and Mark Wood (2/23) scalped two wickets each. As a result, Afghanistan got all-out for 112 runs in 19.4 overs.
England didn’t chase this low score comfortably. The Afghan bowlers troubled the Brits but the target was too less for them to defend. Handy knocks from Liam Livingstone (29*), Jos Buttler (18), Alex Hales (19) and Dawid Malan (18) helped England in scoring 113/5 in 18.1 overs. Fazalhaq Farooqi (1/24), Rashid Khan (1/17) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s (1/22) respective economic spells went in vain. However, this loss will not be very costly for the Afghans as their net run rate is -.0.620.