Afghanistan’s cricket was showcased to the world through the rise of Rashid Khan. The world came to know about the abundance of riches Afghanistan possessed. The team now boasts of some technically sound batters such as openers Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and a sharp pace attack led by Fazalhaq Farooqi and Azmatullah Omartazai.

The best example of how their batters are gaining in maturity was seen in the innings of Ibrahim Zadran against England. The opener’s epic 177 was of such high quality that any top player, including England’s stalwart Joe Root, who himself crafted a masterful 120, would have been proud of it.

After Jofra Archer’s three-wicket burst with the new ball had left Afghanistan reeling, Zadran showed the game awareness to soak in the pressure and rebuild. Also on display was the value of batting in partnerships, batting at different tempos at different stages. First was the consolidating phase with captain Hashmuttah Shahidi (40 runs), adding 103 off 124 balls for the fourth wicket. With Azmatullah Omarzai (41 off 31 balls) he was content to play second fiddle in a partnership of 72 (63 balls) before going hammer and tongs with Mohammad Nabi as Afghanistan added 110 runs in their last 10 overs.

Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott, who has overseen their transformation after taking over the team three years ago, said: “When I took over, there was a rawness to the side. A lot of it is to do with preparation and how they think about themselves and the work they do off the field, with which you give yourself the best chance on the field. The guys play a lot of cricket; they play a lot of franchise cricket, which is good because they’re developing and playing with the world’s best players and seeing how they perform. They bring that experience back to the Afghanistan side and throw it in the melting pot and we get nights like this.”

The former England batter said no side would ever again take Afghanistan lightly. “What happened in the World Cup, T20 World Cup, and (now), I say this to the players: Afghanistan’s never going to be taken lightly ever again. In the past, perhaps people would have seen the fixture and thought it was a little bit easier than playing a historic Test nation. But in this format, in these conditions, I don’t see that. I see every game that we play is going to be competitive and every game we go into I expect to win. Australia (next opponents) aren’t going to take us lightly.”

On the other hand, England have lost their way in the ODI format. They are a pale shadow of the team which played such enterprising cricket under Eoin Morgan in the run-up to the 2019 ICC World Cup title. Since winning the championship at home, they have lost more ODIs (34) than they have won (29). Under captain Jos Buttler, who replaced Morgan in 2021, they have won 14 of 38 ODIs.

Brendon McCullum replaced Matthew Mott as head coach of the white-ball sides as well, at the turn of the year and it was hoped his arrival would reinvigorate England with his attacking philosophy.

Ahead of the Champions Trophy, former England batting icon Kevin Pietersen had expressed doubts whether their ultra-attacking approach would get the side consistent results. The only batter who kept England alive in Wednesday’s contest was Joe Root, who stuck to his old-fashioned style of mixing caution with aggression.

“You only have to look at their statistics. They certainly are not (getting the results in Test cricket) and then we’ll have to wait and see what happens in white ball. They’ve only played a couple of games and they’ve lost their first series. I don’t think deep down if you ask them, they’re achieving the numbers that they want to achieve,” Pietersen had said during a media interaction in Mumbai.

England’s worst fears have come true.