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In a remarkable turn of events, Afghanistan secured a stunning victory over the defending champions England in their recent ODI World Cup 2023 clash on Sunday, October 15. At New Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium, Afghanistan successfully defended their score of 285 runs, restricting England to a mere 215 runs in 40.3 overs.
Following this thrilling win, Afghanistan's coach, Jonathan Trott, expressed his excitement and described it as a pivotal moment in Afghan cricket history. He was optimistic that this triumph would pave the way for a brighter future in the sport, while also sending out a warning to the bigger teams in the competition.
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"This is significant, certainly in the manner and by the margin as well. And the way that they played, at no time really, I think when we were batting, did we think we were running away with the game? We thought we had a decent total, but we had to bowl well and field well and the guys did that," Trott said in the post match press conference in Delhi.
"So, I think it's very pleasing and there's a lot of confidence that will hopefully come from this when competing against the bigger nations and it'll have a knock-on effect to all the other games, but not only in this World Cup, but for the future as well. Just what Afghanistan cricket can achieve," he further added on the win.
Trott, a former English batter himself, credited his players for their outstanding performance and deemed this win as one of the most significant milestones in the country's history. Notably, this marked the first time in three ODI World Cups that Afghanistan defeated a Test-playing nation.
"I think it'll take a while or hopefully it takes a little bit that sinks in pretty quickly because we've got to move on quite quickly as well. We got a game in Chennai in three days. But I think it's important that the guys enjoy it but also take stock and realise when they get a certain amount of things right in the 50 overs or the 100 overs completely, what they can achieve, and the level of team that they can put under pressure and compete with and win cricket matches," Trott added.
He also highlighted the boost in confidence that this victory would provide to Afghanistan's cricket team when competing against stronger cricketing nations. Trott believed that this success would have a lasting impact not only in the ongoing World Cup but also in the future of Afghanistan's cricket.
"I think that's the beauty of the World Cup, isn't it? That's what cricket's about, and it's - I said earlier, this game, it sort of pushes and pulls you so much emotionally as a player and as a coach because you want the players to do so well because you know what they can achieve," he concluded.
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