At the T20 World Cup on Saturday in Perth, Sam Curran’s sensational five-wicket haul and some outstanding fielding helped England defeat Afghanistan by five wickets. Jos Buttler, the captain of England, won the toss and decided to play. His seam bowlers were effective for the squad, considered one of the tournament favorites. Curran, a left-arm fast, finished with statistics of 5-10 to dismiss Afghanistan for 112 in 19.4 overs, becoming the first England bowler to claim five wickets in a T20I.
England, who lost to the United Arab Emirates in the semifinals of the World Cup last year, reached their goal in 18.1 overs, but only after the Afghan bowlers made a point by taking five wickets.
The bowlers were exceptional. Rahmatullah Gurbaz, who had hit a six in the previous over, was caught behind for ten runs when Mark Wood struck with the first ball of the third innings.
Ibrahim Zadran responded with six and two fours. Still, the England fast bowlers mostly kept the scoring under control throughout the first six overs of the powerplay when only two fielders are permitted beyond the inner circle.
Liam Livingstone made a superb running catch at full stretch in the deep as England’s top all-rounder Ben Stokes, who bowled the opening over and had figures of 2-19, came back to get Hazratullah Zazai out.
In his run-a-ball knock, completed with a check shot to backward point off Curran, Zadran tried to maintain the pace. Making 32, he.
Adil Rashid completed a fantastic catch at deep mid-wicket while racing backward, sending Najibullah Zadran back and giving Stokes his second wicket in the sequence of breathtaking catches.
Mohammad Nabi, the opposing team’s captain, was forced to hike back to the pavilion for three runs when Buttler gloved a one-handed catch down the leg side.
Wickets continued to fall as Afghanistan fell from 91-4.
After his third over, Curran had taken two wickets in a row, including Rashid Khan for a duck and a hat-trick.
Usman Ghani played the hat-trick ball to begin the 20th over, but was dismissed on the following ball as Curran eliminated the remaining batsmen.
In response, Afghanistan’s fielders failed to grab the catches made by England’s openers Buttler (18) and Alex Hales (19) following a fast start. Hales was twice dropped on plays of 4 and 17.
As England lost half of their team and Rashid Khan sent Harry Brook back, Afghanistan continued to strike.
