Tendulkar exposes major England flaw in shock WC 'downfall' vs Afghanistan; Sehwag sounds semifinal warning bell

The stunning victory also marked the end of Afghanistan's 14-match losing streak in World Cup, and on the contrary, it handed a rude awakening for England.

Afghanistan on Sunday breathed life into the ongoing 2023 World Cup after pulling of an upset for the ages at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Scripting their only second win ever in World Cup history, Afghanistan beat defending champions England by an emphatic margin of 69 runs to leave latter's campaign hanging in balance. The stunning victory also marked the end of Afghanistan's 14-match losing streak, which included a winless 2019 campaign, and on the contrary, it handed a rude awakening for England.

Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag have their say on England shock loss to Afghanistan

After the loss, batting legend Sachin Tendulkar highlighted a major flaw that saw England failed to chase 285. Taking to social media, while he hailed the Afghanistan side for their historic achievement, he explained why the England batters fell victim to the spin trio of Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan, who picked eight wickets between themselves.

“Wonderful all-round effort by Afghanistan led by a solid knock from @RGurbaz_21. Bad day for @ECB_cricket. Against quality spinners, you have to read them from their hand, which the England batters failed to do. They read them off the pitch instead, which I felt led to their downfall. Loved the energy they carried on the field. Well played @ACBofficials!” Sachin posted.

After Fazalhaq Farooqi provided the first breakthrough for Afghanistan, in the very second over of the innings, the spinners sparked a sensational collapse with Rashid and Mujeeb picking three wickets each while Nabi bagged the other two. The troika combined to run riot through the England lineup as the 2019 winners were folded for only 215 runs in 40.3 overs.

Disappointed at the poor start to England's title-defense campaign, Virender Sehwag, former India opener, reckoned that the side might find it difficult to make the semifinal. He also had his doubts on Australia, who lost both their opening matches, while England secured only a solitary win in three games.

“Looks like Eng and Aus are going to struggle to reach the top 4. #ENGvsAFG,” he posted.

Australia have a crucial World Cup game against Sri Lanka on Monday with the match being a must-win tie for both the teams.