England's habit of dropping a game against a less-fancied side in the World Cup, whether T20 or ODI, saw them go down against Afghanistan in the ICC Cricket World Cup in Delhi on Sunday, October 15. A result, which looked like a formality was turned upside down by the Afghanistan spin trio of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi as England batters failed on a Delhi surface, which had something for everyone after Afghanistan posted a 284-run total.
One of the many things that Afghanistan got right on Sunday night in the national capital, was taking wickets at regular intervals. It started from Jonny Bairstow's scalp early in the powerplay and continued throughout the order as apart from Harry Brook no other batter offered much resistance. Thanks to the lower order and the bowlers, who did their bit in reducing the margin of loss but nevertheless it was a thrashing and it has certainly put a lot of doubts on England's campaign as the defending champions entered the competition as one of the favourites.
Dissecting England's defeat, Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar suggested that their batters' failure to read the spinners from hand was key in deciding the result of the match. "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!," Tendulkar wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Tendulkar's former opening partner Virender Sehwag on the other hand opined that the two former champions Australia and England are not looking like World Cup-winning sides, saying that they both will struggle to qualify for the semi-finals.
"Looks like Eng and Aus are going to struggle to reach the top 4. #ENGvsAFG," Sehwag posted.
All is still not lost as England have six games in hand but they will need a humongous effort to turn it around as things look bleak at the moment for the defending champs.
