WC: Spinners take eight wickets in Afghanistan's win over England
Afghanistan upset defending champions England in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup encounter in Delhi. Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan took three wickets each as Afghanistan defended 284. Meanwhile, Mohammad Nabi chipped in with two wickets. England were bowled out for 215, with Harry Brook scoring 70. It was the first instance of England losing eight wickets to spin in a WC match.
Afghanistan restrict England to 215, win by 69 runs
England never looked comfortable while chasing 285. Their star batters Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root departed in the first Powerplay. It was a dominant show by spinners Nabi, Rashid, and Mujeeb as England plunged to 138/6. Brook turned out to be England's lone warrior, but Mujeeb dismissed him to fuel Afghanistan's win. Rashid took England's final two wickets as Afghanistan won by 69 runs.
Afghanistan spinners came out all guns blazing
The Afghanistan spinners took eight wickets for 104 runs in 25.3 overs. Rashid Khan was the pick of these bowlers, having taken three wickets for 37 runs in 9.3 overs, including a maiden. Mujeeb picked up as many wickets, conceding 51 runs in 10 overs (one maiden). Nabi returned figures worth 2/16 in six overs. He dismissed a dangerous Dawid Malan (32).
Afghan spinners script history
As per Cricbuzz, this was the first instance of Afghanistan spinners taking six-plus wickets in an ODI World Cup match (eight). Their previous best was six against Sri Lanka in 2019. Meanwhile, England have lost eight wickets to spin for the first time (World Cups).
Fourth-best bowling figures for Afghanistan in WCs
Rashid's 3/37 are now the fourth-best bowling figures for Afghanistan in the World Cup. Nabi (4/30) vs SL, Cardiff, 2019), Shapoor Zadran (4/38 vs SCO, Dunedin, 2015), and Dawlat Zadran (3/29 vs SCO, Dunedin, 2015) are above Rashid.
A look at other notable numbers
Nabi now has the most wickets for Afghanistan in ODI World Cups. With 15 wickets, he has overtaken Dawlat, who owns 14 scalps. Rashid and Mujeeb follow Zadran, with 11 and 10 wickets, respectively. Mujeeb has now raced to 96 wickets in ODI cricket. He is set to become the fourth Afghanistan spinner with 100 scalps in the format.
