#Afghanistan#England# Ibrahim Zadran#Champions Trophy
IBNS-CMEDIA: Ibrahim Zadran hit a memorable 177 runs to help Afghanistan beat England by eight runs in a closely contested Champions Trophy Group B clash in Lahore on Wednesday.
Afghanistan’s victory also ensured England’s run in this edition of the 50-over ICC event came to an end.
After posting a competitive 325 runs for the loss of seven wickets in their quota of 50 overs, Afghanistan bowlers finished off the task by bowling out the South Asian squad to 317 runs.
England was slowly inching towards victory but Azmatullah Omarzai put up a strong performance and clinched five wickets to win the game.
Ibrahim Zadran remained the high-scoring batsman in Champions Trophy history.
The opener hit 12 boundaries and six sixes in his 146-ball knock.
Hashmatullah Shahidi (40), Azmatullah Omarzai (41) and Mohammad Nabi (40) remained the other contributors to the willow.
The three batsmen provided strong support on the other end to Ibrahim Zadran.
Jofra Archer picked up three wickets for England.
Liam Livingstone scalped two wickets.
England batsman Joe Root’s 120 runs knock could not prevent his team from an early exit from the tournament.
In his supportive knock, he hit 11 boundaries and a six.
Ben Duckett (38) and Jos Buttler (38) were the other two major contributors with the bat in the high-scoring encounter.
