Watch: Azmatullah Omarzai castles Phil Salt to give Afghanistan DREAM start in AFG vs ENG clash

The 24-year-old all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai provided the Afghanistan National Cricket Team with a great start with the ball in the 8th match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 on Wednesday, February 26.

Azmatullah Omarzai knocked over the explosive England National Cricket Team opening batsman Phil Salt at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore in the 4th over itself.

Also Read: Watch: Liam Livingstone gets injured after Mark Wood, limps off the field during AFG vs ENG clash

Phil Salt falls for 12 off Azmatullah Omarzai against Afghanistan

Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bat first in the match. They did a tremendous job in the first innings as the surface had enough in it for the batters.

Ibrahim Zadran played the innings of a lifetime as he slammed 117 runs off 146 runs to help the Afghans post a colossal total of 325/7 on the board. His innings was studded with 12 fours and 6 sixes.

While chasing a huge target of 326 runs, England National Cricket Team were off to an awful start as Phil Salt was dismissed early. He walked back to the hut after scoring 12 runs off 13 balls, with 2 fours.

On the third ball of the 4th over, the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year 2024, Azmatullah Omarzai, bowled a good length delivery on off-stump. The ball didn't have much movement and it just skidded on after pitching.

Salt tried to heave across the line amateurishly without picking the length and the ball went on to hit the top of middle and the off-stump. With his dismissal, the Three Lions were left struggling at 19/1 and Azmatullah Omarzai celebrated aggressively.

Watch: Azmatullah Omarzai castles Phil Salt

Azmatullah sends Salt packing early, taking a crucial wicket and putting England on the backfoot 😱#ChampionsTrophyOnJioStar 👉 #AFGvENG | LIVE NOW on Star Sports 2 & Sports18-1

📺📱 Start Watching FREE on JioHotstar! pic.twitter.com/oEk9mjZnSf

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) February 26, 2025

How did Afghanistan perform in their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 opener?

Afghanistan started off their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign on a poor note as they suffered a 107-run defeat against South Africa in Karachi.

While bowling first in the match, the Afghanistan bowlers struggled against the strong South Africa batting unit. They allowed four Proteas batters to cross the 50-run mark with one batter - Ryan Rickelton - reaching the three-figure mark.

South Africa ended up posting a good total of 315/6 on the board. Afghanistan’s spinners found little assistance from the surface, with Mohammad Nabi (2/51) being the top performer.

Chasing a steep target of 316, Afghanistan were rattled by the South African pace attack. Openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran were dismissed cheaply and they were left reeling at 38 for 2.

Other batters also failed, with Rahmat Shah being the only one who provided some resistance. Rahmat batted quite well and registered 90 runs off 92 balls but lacked support from the other end, as the second-highest score in the innings was just 18. He was the last one to be dismissed and Afghanistan were bowled out for 208 in 43.3 overs.

Also Read: Watch: Huge blunder! Umpire calls over after 5 balls, then forces Joe Root to bowl again