How Afghanistan ended 14-match losing streak to beat defending champions England for biggest upset in World Cup history

This was Afghanistan's only second ever win in World Cups since their maiden appearance in 2015, when they had defeated Scotland

It’s 2015 all over again for England as the defending champions endured quite possibly the biggest upset in World Cup history. Afghanistan punched above their weight to pull off an absolute shocker and secure a monumental 69-run win which live through their cricketing folklore forever.

England's captain Jos Butler leaves the ground after losing his wicket as Afghanistan's Naveen-ul-Haq celebrates with teammates during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup match between Afghanistan and England (AP)

The upset at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley stadium is England’s biggest since Bangladesh knocked them out in the 2015 edition, or the one Ireland caused them in 2011 as Jos Buttler and his men were handed a brutal reminder of their past demons. On a seemingly quiet Sunday evening, after the razzmatazz of the much-awaited India-Pakistan match in Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium, Afghanistan compelled world cricket to shift their focus to Delhi as they created history.

This was Afghanistan's only second ever win in World Cups since their maiden appearance in 2015, when they had defeated Scotland in Dunedin by one wicket. After scripting a forgettable winless run in 2019 World Cup which continued with losses against Bangladesh and India in the 2023 edition, Afghanistan finally managed to snap their 14-match losing streak with their biggest ever win in international cricket, let alone this format.

Afghanistan post record 284 on back of Gurbaz heroics

Put into bat first after Buttler won the toss, Afghanistan got off to a stellar start with openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, who looked off-colour in the first two matches, stitching a 114-run opening stand, en route to scoring at a lightening pace of eight an over in the first powerplay.

Gurbaz took on the fast bowlers and notched up a fiery half century, but Afghanistan soon lost wickets in a sudden top order collapse after Adil Rashid (3/42) came on. Although Gurbaz looked relentless even against the leggie, sweeping him for boundaries as Afghanistan roared to 100 runs in just 76 balls, England tasted their first success in the 17th over when Rashid got rid of Zadran (28) and then had Rahmat Shah stumped in his next over.

Gurbaz looked well set for a World Cup century, having smashed eight boundaries and four maximums, but the 21-year-old was left utterly frustrated after being run out by substitute David Willey at midwicket when skipper Shahidi called him for a needless single. Gurbaz, dismissed for 80, was livid as he trudged off, smashing his bat on the boundary rope and a chair as he returned to the pavilion.

Another collapse seemed to be transpiring was eventually before a steady 43-run stand between Ikram Alikhil and Rashid Khan steadied Afghanistan. But the partnership ended with Rashid falling victim to a stunning piece of fielding from Joe Root at the boundary. Alikhil eventually was dismissed for 58 but Mujeeb Ur Rahman also made a quickfire 28 off 16 before England folded Afghanistan in the penultimate ball of the final over when Jos Buttler ran out Naveen-ul-Haq.

The total of 284 posted by Afghanistan was their second highest in a World Cup match behind 288 against the West Indies in 2019.

England crash and burn

Bangladesh's Mustafizur Rahman might have erred just a tad bit in his execution the other day, but Fazalhaq Farooqi, also a left-armer, perfectly executed the plan on Saturday against Jonny Bairstow (2). In his very first delivery of the innings, he got the ball to swing down leg as Jonny Bairstow lost his balance and was trapped in front. A few overs later, Mujeeb dished out a flipper to get rid of England's best batter in the squad as Root (11) paid the price for playing the fuller delivery on his back foot. Mohammad Nabi then ended Dawid Malan's resistance on 32.

Things went from bad to worse in a jiffy after Buttler was undone by an in-dipper from Naveen while Liam Livingstone burned a review after being trapped plumb by a googly from Rashid which saw the defending champions lose half their side. Harry Brook remained the only constant through the better half of England's struggle in the middle. Having never gone past 25 in his last eight innings, the 24-year-old, who was a last-minute addition to the World Cup squad, notched up his second career fifty to give a glimmer of hope to England.

With Afghanistan desperate to hand that killer blow to England, the captain brought back Mujeeb, who first castled Chris Woakes with a googly before dismissing Brook with a carrom ball for 66. Rashid then cleared out the remaining two wickets in no time as Afghanistan scripted a historic win after folding England for just 215 runs with 57 balls to spare.