Azmatullah Omarzai achieves unprecedented milestone, becomes first player in the world to do THIS

New Delhi: In a historic moment, Afghanistan achieved their first-ever victory in the Champions Trophy by defeating England by 8 runs in a thrilling Group B match at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. This victory knocked England out of the tournament and bolstered Afghanistan's chances of making it to the semi-finals. The standout performer of the match was Azmatullah Omarzai, who exhibited exceptional skills with both bat and ball, making him the first player to achieve this remarkable feat. To secure a spot in the semi-finals, Afghanistan now needs to win their final group match against Australia.

Azmatullah Omarzai made a significant contribution with the bat, scoring 41 runs off 31 balls in Afghanistan’s first innings, helping the team reach a total of 326/7. In the second innings, he excelled with the ball, taking five wickets and finishing with figures of 5/59. His key dismissals included Phil Salt, Jos Buttler, Joe Root, Jamie Overton, and Adil Rashid.

Omarzai made history by being the first player to score over 40 runs and take five wickets in a single match during the Champions Trophy. He is also the fifth player in the tournament’s history to achieve the feat of taking five wickets while chasing a target, joining the ranks of Jacques Kallis, Makhaya Ntini, Jacob Oram, and Glenn McGrath.

Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bat first. Jofra Archer started the match strongly, taking three wickets early on and leaving Afghanistan at 39/3 during the initial powerplay. Following this, Ibrahim Zadran took center stage, hitting a remarkable 177 runs, which is the highest individual score in Champions Trophy history. He received solid support from Hashmatullah Shahidi, Azmatullah Omarzai, and Mohammad Nabi, forming partnerships of 100 runs with both Shahidi and Nabi. Ultimately, Afghanistan finished their innings with a total of 325/7.

Omarzai’s impressive five-wicket performance troubled England in their second innings, resulting in an 8-run defeat. Joe Root fought valiantly, scoring 120 runs and nearly leading his team to victory, but ultimately his contributions were not enough.