Afghanistan cricket fans thronged the streets to celebrate their team’s triumph over England in the 2025 Champions Trophy on Wednesday (February 26). Led by Hashmatullah Shahidi, Afghanistan secured an eight-run victory at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium, keeping their semi-final hopes alive.
With this defeat, England joined Pakistan and Bangladesh as the third team eliminated from the tournament. Batting first, Afghanistan posted 325/7, powered by Ibrahim Zadran’s brilliant 177 off 146 balls.
In the second innings, Azmatullah Omarzai (5/58) played a key role in defending the total, overcoming a strong fightback from Joe Root (120) to seal a thrilling win. The historic victory brought immense joy to fans in Afghanistan. Large crowds took to the streets, celebrating with bike stunts and fire performances.
You can watch the video here:
Afghanistan 🇦🇫#ChampionsTrophy2025 #AFGvENG pic.twitter.com/GjbASea2Dr
— Riaz Khananzai (@RiazMohamm75423) February 26, 2025
Aakash Chopra calls Afghanistan a giant-killer after England’s exit
Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra lauded Afghanistan for their team effort in eliminating England from the 2025 Champions Trophy. Calling them “giant killers,” he praised their journey overcoming challenges to succeed in international cricket. On his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said:
“Team Afghanistan, you beauty. Take a bow. You people are incredible. You are a different level team. All of you are superstars. You have played cricket with limited means. They started from refugee camps and are making big teams lick the dust in a very short span of time.”
“They are a giant-killing team. They beat England last time as well in the World Cup. They beat them this time too and on a pitch where the ball wasn’t stopping or getting stuck.”
He further continued:
“This is not the pitch that Afghan team likes but they still won. We have praised Ibrahim Zadran a lot on this show because he plays clean cricket. He scored 177 runs, the highest score in the history of the Champions Trophy.”
“It wasn’t just a century. 177 runs is a lot. He took the team to 325. It seemed like he would score 200 as time was left but he kept hitting, and the others did that as well.”
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