Afghanistan’s cricket team continues to impress on the international stage, securing a remarkable victory against England, the 2019 World Cup champions. In a crucial Group B match of the Champions Trophy 2025, Afghanistan triumphed over England by eight runs in a thrilling encounter. This win marks Afghanistan’s second consecutive 50-over ICC tournament victory against England, following their success in the 2023 World Cup.
Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan celebrated Afghanistan’s victory by performing his signature dance moves. He shared a video on social media, dancing to the Bollywood hit ‘Afghan Jalebi’, captioning his Instagram post, “Another ICC win against England from Afghanistan. Well done!”
This dance celebration has become a tradition for Pathan, as he also danced when Afghanistan defeated England in the 2023 World Cup. On that occasion, he danced with Afghan star Rashid Khan. This time, Rashid Khan playfully commented on Pathan’s post, “Brother, dancing without me? Thank you brother, always for support and love.”
Pathan’s celebratory dance quickly went viral on Instagram, amassing over 600,000 likes within the first 10 hours.
In the match, needing a win to stay in contention for the semi-finals, Afghanistan demonstrated why their victories should no longer be considered upsets. After a shaky start, Afghanistan recovered to post a total of 325 runs in 50 overs. Opener Ibrahim Zadran played an outstanding innings, scoring 177 runs off 146 balls, now the highest individual score in Champions Trophy history.
England, in their chase, seemed to be in contention but ultimately fell short, as Afghanistan took wickets at critical moments. Joe Root scored a brilliant 120 off 111 balls, supported by contributions from Jos Buttler (38), Ben Duckett (38), and Jamie Overton. However, it wasn’t enough to overcome Afghanistan’s total.
Afghanistan’s Azmatullah Omarzai was the standout bowler, taking five wickets, including the important wickets of Root, Overton, and Adil Rashid in the final overs.
Afghanistan’s next challenge is against Australia on February 28, another crucial match in Group B.
