WATCH: Rahmanullah Gurbaz gets furious at captain Hashmatullah Shahidi after suicidal run-out in AFG vs ENG 2023 ODI World Cup 

England and Afghanistan are up against each other at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Sunday, October 15. Opted to bat first, opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz gave Afghanistan a dream start with some powerful hitting. Things were going perfectly for the ‘underdogs’ but the defending champions managed to take control with some quick wickets.

Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran put on a 114-run partnership for the first wicket before Adil Rashid gave some respite for England. The former was aggressive from the start and as a result, Afghanistan raced to 45 inside the first six overs. Zadran took a back seat with some defensive shots while Gurbaz was relentless in his smashing.

It was Sam Curran who felt the real heat of Gurbaz’s attack. The opener scored 20 runs by hitting two fours and a six in the ninth over. The flamboyant batter notched up the fourth-fastest half-century of the ongoing World Cup (33 balls). When the duo looked set to form a mammoth partnership, Rashid got rid of Zadran (28 off 48 balls) in the 17th over.

Adil Rashid put England in the driver’s seat with back-to-back wickets 

Captain Jos Buttler continued Rashid in the attack and the right-arm spinner got another wicket of Rahmat Shah in his next over. However, the turning point for England was when the dangerous Gurbaz was run out on the very next ball. England were on the back foot until this point, but Gurbaz’s wicket put them in the driver’s seat.

The right-handed batter was furious after being dismissed as it was a suicidal call from the Afghan skipper. Rashid’s fifth ball of the 19th over, Hashmatullah Shahidi played on-side towards the left of mid-wicket, where David Willey was very alert. Gurbaz didn’t hesitate to respond to the captain’s call, but Willey’s clean throw was well finished by wicketkeeper Jos Buttler.

He was well short of the crease and had to depart after scoring 80 off just 57 balls. A century was on the cards for him but he had to walk back in frustration, leaving Afghanistan in trouble. Meanwhile, Gurbaz was seen angry at Shahidi for his poor judgment all the way to the pavilion.

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Meanwhile, Afghanistan set a target of 285 runs after England bowled them out in 49.5 overs. Ikram Alikhil’s brilliant half-century and Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman‘s effective cameos gave them a respectable total.