Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi showered praise on his opener Ibrahim Zadran after an eight-run win against England in the ongoing Champions Trophy 2025 at the Gadaffi Stadium, Lahore on Wednesday.
After winning the toss, Afghanistan was reduced to 37-3 in the Powerplay overs however Zadran was able to steady the ship. The right-hander scored a masterpiece knock of 177 runs off just 146 balls, which is the highest individual score in Champions Trophy’s history.
The Afghanistan opener smashed 12 fours and six sixes in his blistering knock as he batted at the top of his game. Thus, he played an instrumental role in helping Afghanistan post 325 runs on the board and also bagged the Player of the Match award.
Afghanistan scored 113 runs in the last 10 overs whereas England was skittled out for 317 in the second innings.
Hashmatullah Shahidi said in the post-match presentation, “As a team we are happy. Our nation will be happy with this win. Moving on to the next game. We beat them first time in 2023. We are improving day by day. Today was a tense game. We controlled it well. I am happy with the result. Zadran is a talented guy. We were three down at the beginning and the pressure was on. The partnership between me and him was crucial. One of the best ODI knocks that I have seen.”
Shahidi also showered praise on Azmatullah Omarzai, who scored a crucial knock of 41 runs off 31 balls and also returned with impressive figures of 5-58. The medium pacer also accounted for Joe Root, who top-scored with 120 runs for England.
Shahidi concluded, “Azmat played a good knock. Played with positive intent. He bowled crucial overs as well. We have talented youngsters and some senior guys. Everyone knows their role. Everyone is doing good. Hopefully, we will take the momentum to the game versus Australia. It will give us confidence but it will be a new day. That game will decide who will go to the semis. We will do what is good for us on that day.”
Afghanistan will next take on Australia at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on Friday.
