World Cup 2019: England cruise to easy win over Afghanistan
England defeated Afghanistan by 150 runs in the 24th match of the ICC World Cup 2019 played at Old Trafford, Manchester on Tuesday.
England captain Eoin Morgan won the toss and elected to bat first. James Vince and Jonny Bairstow got off to a cautious start, taking singles and hitting occasional boundaries. Dawlat Zadran got the breakthrough by dismissing Vince for 26, and at the end of 10 overs England were 46 for 1.
After the power play, Bairstow and Joe Root built a solid partnership. Bairstow reached his fifty off 61 balls while Root took his time at the start.
Gulbadin Naib struck by dismissing Bairstow for 90, after he and Root had added 120 runs for the 2nd wicket. Morgan then came to the crease with an attacking approach and smashed the Afghanistan bowlers to all parts of the ground.
Root reached his fifty off 54 balls while Morgan with his aggressive batting completed it off 36 deliveries. After crossing the landmark, Morgan started wreaking havoc by hitting sixes at will. At the other end Root also made batting look easy.
Morgan completed his century off 57 balls. It was an amazing batting display by the England captain; he totally demolished the Afghanistan bowling attack.
Naib finally struck by dismissing Root for 88. The partnership between Morgan and Root for the third wicket yielded 189 runs.
Morgan was then dismissed for a sensational 148 off 71 balls with 17 sixes and 4 fours. Moeen Ali also joined in the party with a quickfire 31 off 15 balls, and England posted a massive total of 397 for 6 in 50 overs.
For Afghanistan, Dawlat Zadran took 3 wickets while Naib took 2 wickets.
Chasing the mammoth target of 398, Afghanistan were in trouble early as Jofra Archer dismissed Noor Ali Zadran for 0. Naib and Rahmat Shah then played some lovely strokes, and at the end of 10 overs Afghanistan were 48 for 1.
After the power play, Mark Wood dismissed Naib for 37 off 28 balls. Naib and Shah had added 48 runs for the 2nd wicket.
Hashmatullah Shahidi came to the crease and showed positive intent, and he and Shah added 52 runs for the 3rd wicket. Shah was eventually dismissed for 46 by Adil Rashid.
Asghar Afghan, coming in at number 5, showed his class with some brilliant batting. At the other end, Shahidi reached his fifty off 68 balls. Afghan and Shahidi added 94 runs for the 4th wicket.
Afghanistan eventually wound up with 247 for 8 at the end of 50 overs. England won the match by 150 runs and moved to the top of the points table.
Brief scores: England 397 for 6 in 50 overs (Eoin Morgan 148, Jonny Bairstow 90, Joe Root 88, Dawlat Zadran 3/85, Gulbadin Naib 3/68) beat Afghanistan 247 for 8 in 50 overs (Hashmatullah Shahidi 76, Rahmat Shah 46, Asghar Afghan 44, Jofra Archer 3/52, Adil Rashid 3/66) by 150 runs.
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