ENG vs AFG, ODI World Cup 2023: Afghanistan beats England by 69 runs

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AFG vs ENG, ODI World Cup 2023: In a monumental upset at the 2023 World Cup, Afghanistan achieved a historic victory by defeating England, the reigning world champions, by a margin of 69 runs.

The match, played under the Delhi floodlights, was marked by Afghanistan's impressive spin and seam performance.

Afghanistan's triumph was initiated by 21-year-old Rahmanullah Gurbaz, whose aggressive power-hitting yielded 80 runs from 57 balls until he was run out.

Ikram Alikhil then steered Afghanistan's lower order with a valuable half-century, enabling them to set a challenging target of 285 runs.

England's decision to chase the target seemed logical, anticipating favorable conditions for batting under the floodlights. However, Afghanistan's bowlers, particularly Fazalhaq Farooqi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, exploited the conditions well.

Farooqi's delivery in the powerplay pinned Jonny Bairstow, and soon after, Joe Root fell to Mujeeb's delivery that kept low.

Dawid Malan tried to stabilize England's innings, but Mohammad Nabi's brilliant off-spin delivery dismissed him, leaving England struggling at 68 for 3.

Jos Buttler, the England captain, had a rare off day, scoring just 9 runs. The rest of England's innings lacked conviction, and they failed to assert themselves.

Harry Brook's valiant half-century and a late burst of aggression from Reece Topley came too late for England, as they ended up well short of the target.

Afghanistan's spin-dominated and fearless performance secured a remarkable victory and provided the first major upset of the 2023 World Cup.