England had already suffered a defeat at the hands of New Zealand at the start of the tournament, making it crucial for them to avoid more losses if they hoped to make it to the semi-finals.
On paper, Afghanistan appeared to be the easiest of their remaining opponents, but the tournament's underdogs took control of the match, both with the bat and the ball, even after losing the toss. They secured just their second-ever win at the World Cup. The tone was set early in Afghanistan's innings, with a strong partnership of 79 runs in the first 10 overs and an impressive opening stand of 114 within 16.4 overs.
England managed to regain some control by dismissing Rahmanullah Gurbaz after his superb 80 off 57 balls, reducing Afghanistan to 122-3. However, Afghanistan maintained a run-rate of over five runs per over.
The trio of spin bowlers, Adil Rashid (3-42), Liam Livingstone (1-33), and Joe Root (1-19), showed their skills over 24 overs. But England's fast bowlers struggled as Afghanistan continued to score.
While Rashid Khan (23) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (28) made valuable contributions down the order, it was Ikram Alikhil (58) who shone, scoring 58 runs from 66 balls. This helped Afghanistan reach a total of 284 all out with just one ball remaining in their innings.
In their response, England needed a strong start, but early losses of Jonny Bairstow (2) and Joe Root (11) within seven overs put them on the back foot. Dawid Malan, despite being well set at 32 from 39, gave his wicket away.
Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone made contributions of just nine and ten runs, respectively, leaving England struggling at 117-5 after 20.4 overs. Their hopes relied mainly on Harry Brook, who displayed commendable resilience by scoring 66 runs from 61 balls, offering a glimmer of hope. However, England's fate was sealed when Brook was dismissed with the score at 169-8.
Lower-order batsmen Rashid (20), Mark Wood (18), and Reece Topley (15*) managed to make the final score more respectable, but Afghanistan's Ur Rahman (3-51) and Rashid Khan (3-37) ensured that England was bowled out embarrassingly for just 215 runs in 40.3 overs.
