Afghanistan vs England Live: England Lose Early Wickets Chasing 326:

Afghanistan and England are battling it out in a must-win encounter at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Both teams need a victory to stay in contention for the knockout rounds, making this clash a high-stakes thriller.

Afghanistan’s Innings: Zadran’s Historic Knock Powers 325/7

Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bat first.
Jofra Archer’s fiery spell reduced Afghanistan to 39/3 in the powerplay, dismissing Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal, and Rahmat Shah early.
Ibrahim Zadran then took charge, smashing 177 runs – the highest individual score in Champions Trophy history.
He stitched crucial partnerships:
103-run stand with Hashmatullah Shahidi (4th wicket)
81-run partnership with Azmatullah Omarzai (5th wicket)
100-run stand with Mohammad Nabi (6th wicket)
Mohammad Nabi (40 off 24 balls) played a late cameo to push Afghanistan to 325/7 in 50 overs.

England’s Bowling Highlights

Jofra Archer (3 wickets) rocked Afghanistan early.
Liam Livingstone & Jamie Overton provided late breakthroughs.
England’s bowling faltered in the last 10 overs, conceding 113 runs.

Afghanistan vs England Pitch Report

The Gaddafi Stadium pitch has produced high-scoring games in the tournament. With a flat track and shorter boundaries, batting is expected to be easier under lights.

England’s chase will rely on a strong top-order performance, and Afghanistan’s spinners could play a key role in defending the total.

Afghanistan vs England: Head-to-Head Record

The two teams have played three ODIs against each other:
England won 2 matches
Afghanistan won 1 match

England’s Run Chase: Early Setbacks

England started aggressively but lost early wickets, mirroring Afghanistan’s struggles.
Azmatullah Omarzai & Fazalhaq Farooqi struck early blows, sending back Phil Salt (19) and Jamie Smith (6).
Ben Duckett and Joe Root are now trying to rebuild England’s innings.

Live Score Updates (8.6 Overs, England 54/2)

8.6 Overs: Mohammad Nabi to Joe Root, FOUR! Smart batting, guides it past point.
8.5 Overs: Single – Duckett taps it to mid-wicket.
8.4 Overs: FOUR! Ben Duckett lofts a beautiful shot inside out over cover.
7.5 Overs: FOUR! Joe Root flicks an elegant shot to deep square leg.

England’s batters are slowly finding rhythm, but they need to accelerate to keep up with the required run rate.

Squads for Afghanistan vs England

Afghanistan XI:

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi.

England XI:

Philip Salt, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith (wk), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c), Liam Livingstone, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Jamie Overton.

What’s Next? Can England Chase 325?

With Afghanistan’s spinners yet to bowl, England will need a big partnership from Root, Buttler, and Livingstone to stay in the hunt. If Afghanistan’s bowlers continue to pick wickets, they could pull off a historic win.