Follow UsAfghanistan have been here before and have beaten England in the 2023 ODI World Cup clash. But they go into this contest on February 26 (Wednesday) at Gaddafi Stadium with a loss in their first-ever Champions Trophy clash.
A win here, however, completely changes the narrative as Afghanistan will make this Group into a three-way battle between Australia, South Africa and themselves. Ahead of the clash, their skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi warned the side, stating that spinners can’t just keep on winning games for the Asian side.
“I think if you look at the past, we did well as a batting unit. That's why we achieved. And everyone knows that we have quality spinners, but one department, only spinners cannot win games, especially when it comes to the big teams,” Shahidi said in the pre-match press conference.
But the bone of contention has been Afghanistan’s batting unit, which flopped in their first-ever Champions Trophy clash against South Africa, chasing 316, they got bowled out for 208.
“I believe that we did really well in the recent past as a batting unit, but in the last South Africa game, the way we expect as a team from our batting lineup, we didn't play that way. I believe that still we have a good batting unit and we have quality players when it comes to batting. Right now, we have two more games, and we have a big chance to win those games. I believe in this condition; our batting will come back stronger and will be effective for the next two games,” he added.
If the toss goes Afghanistan’s way, it is not a surprise that they will be batting first.
“I think when we bat first, that gives us more chance, but at the same time, we beat teams in the last World Cup also, batting second. And after that, in series also. But in the South Africa game, I think that the wicket was little bit more supportive for fast bowling and - when our spinners were bowling - there was no support for them – I didn't even see one ball turning,” he said.
“So yeah - we didn't play well, especially in batting we didn't start well - first twenty overs. At the same time - it's not an excuse but the world knows that we have good spinners - I didn't see any support there, but hopefully we have some support in tomorrow's game for our spinners.”
When these two sides faced off last time around in an ICC ODI event, Afghanistan trumped England by 69 runs in Delhi. Eight of the 10 wickets fell to spin, something that Afghanistan hope to repeat in Lahore on February 26.
“In 2023, we had a good game against England, and we beat them. We have that confidence with us, but that's part of history, and now we have to go to ground with the new mindset and with the new planning,” Shahidi said.
“I think we all know that England is one of the best teams, so it's a tough challenge for us, but we are ready for any kind of challeng,e and we worked hard to achieve - to reach this level, and we are ready to play every game in a positive way and we will take that confidence with us what happened in the 2023 World Cup - but yeah at the same time tomorrow is new day and we will try our best to beat them again.”
A win here would keep Afghanistan’s qualification hopes alive, but England would be out of the competition.