Despite the ‘Kohli, Kohli’ taunts from the spectators at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Afghan bowler Naveen-ul-Haq skillfully bowled England’s captain Jos Buttler, putting England at 91/4 in their pursuit of 285 and sparking the possibility of a remarkable Afghan victory in the 2023 World Cup.
Naveen expertly exploited one of Buttler’s rare weak points. The England captain was working on his innings and waiting for a chance to play a shot. Naveen tricked him by bowling from a wide angle away from the stumps and making the ball come in fast.
Buttler lifted his leg and attempted a flick, leaving a significant gap between his bat and pad in the process. Thanks to the extra skid on the Kotla pitch, the ball managed to slip through that gap and hit his stumps.
Naveen has faced constant taunts with chants of Virat Kohli’s name in all Afghanistan matches at this venue. Their dispute during IPL 2023 was widely known, but they appeared to reconcile with a warm hug when India faced Afghanistan in Delhi, Kohli’s home ground. However, the crowd’s reaction turned unfriendly once again.
Delhi is cheering for Naveen. Yes, read that again! 👏👏👏pic.twitter.com/e8wyN4zxz7
— Lucknow Super Giants (@LucknowIPL) October 15, 2023
The pitch helped ease the tension, and Afghanistan enjoyed substantial backing in the initial innings, especially when Rashid Khan stepped up to bat.
Following Naveen-ul-Haq’s impressive delivery, Rashid Khan leaves England with just five remaining batsmen
Rashid Khan once more ignited the crowd’s excitement, this time during the second innings. A couple of overs after dismissing Buttler, he also took the wicket of Liam Livingstone, who was lbw for a mere 10 runs off 14 balls, which brought England to 117/5.
Rashid wasn’t introduced into the match until the 16th over, despite calls for his inclusion as early as the powerplay. This meant he still had most of his overs left to bowl at the time of this update. You can follow the live action here.
In the earlier part of the game, Afghanistan’s other three bowlers also each took one wicket. Fazalhaq Farooqi dismissed Jonny Bairstow with his very first delivery, Mohammad Nabi eliminated Dawid Malan, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman bowled out Joe Root with an excellent delivery.
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