England's ICC Champions Trophy 2025 journey ended in heartbreak as Afghanistan defeated them by 8 runs in a nail-biting encounter at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium. Star batter Joe Root fought till the end with a brilliant century, but his valiant effort went in vain as Afghanistan pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the tournament.
After the loss of the final England wicket, the former skipper (Root) was incosolable and broke down in tears as England crashed out of yet another ICC tournament following poor campaigns in the 2023 ODI World Cup and 2024 T20 World Cup
Afghanistan end England's ICC Trophy dream
Afghanistan posted a stiff target of 326 runs after batting first courtesy of a sensational knock by Ibrahim Zadran. The opener not only played one of the best innings in Afghanistan's cricket history but also etched his name in history books, smashing 177 runs which is the highest individual score ever in tournament's history.
The death over proved to be disaster for Jos Buttlers team. With Mark Wood walking off the field due to injury, England had to use Joe Root to bowl in the death overs which proved costly.
During the run chase England lost wickets early but Joe Root anchored the innings. However lack of support from the other end left too much pressure on Root's shoulders. The right hander finally ran out of steam and was dismissed for 120 runs which turned out to the game-changing moment of the match. Rest of batters failed to score the remaing runs as Afghanistan pulled off an upset win in their debut tournamentr.
Can Afghanistan qualify for semi's after win over England?
Afghanistan kept their semifinal hopes alive. They will now face Australiain a virtual knockout match, where a win will guarantee them a historic semifinal spot. England on the other hand will look dash South Africa's semi-finl chances and end the tournament with a win
