Azmatullah Omarzai makes HISTORY, becomes first player in the world to do THIS
GH News February 27, 2025 11:06 AM
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New Delhi: Afghanistan made history by securing their inaugural victory in the Champions Trophy defeating England by 8 runs during a Group B match at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. This win eliminated the English team from the tournament. To advance to the semi-finals Afghanistan now needs to win their final group match against Australia. Azmatullah Omarzai was a standout performer in this match excelling with both bat and ball and he became the first player to accomplish a remarkable achievement.
Azmatullah Omarzai made a significant contribution with the bat scoring 41 runs off 31 balls in Afghanistans first innings helping the team reach a total of 326/7. In the second innings he excelled with the ball taking five wickets and finishing with figures of 5/59. His key dismissals included Phil Salt Jos Buttler Joe Root Jamie Overton and Adil Rashid.
Omarzai made history by being the first player to score over 40 runs and take five wickets in a single match during the Champions Trophy. He is also the fifth player in the tournaments history to achieve the feat of taking five wickets while chasing a target joining the ranks of Jacques Kallis Makhaya Ntini Jacob Oram and Glenn McGrath.
Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bat first. Jofra Archer started the match strongly taking three wickets early on and leaving Afghanistan at 39/3 during the initial powerplay. Following this Ibrahim Zadran took center stage hitting a remarkable 177 runs which is the highest individual score in Champions Trophy history. He received solid support from Hashmatullah Shahidi Azmatullah Omarzai and Mohammad Nabi forming partnerships of 100 runs with both Shahidi and Nabi. Ultimately Afghanistan finished their innings with a total of 325/7.
Omarzais impressive five-wicket performance troubled England in their second innings resulting in an 8-run defeat. Joe Root fought valiantly scoring 120 runs and nearly leading his team to victory but ultimately his contributions were not enough.