During England's clash with Afghanistan at the ODI World Cup hosted at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday, October 15, all-rounder Sam Curran demonstrated a mad moment of frustration. A close encounter with a cameraman near the boundary led to Curran pushing him away.
Despite being a pivotal figure in England’s white-ball cricket, Curran has yet to shine in the ongoing World Cup, and his form seemed reflected in Sunday's match in New Delhi.
Curran faced a barrage from Afghanistan's opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who dispatched him for successive boundaries in the 9th over, accumulating 20 runs. Shortly after this, while fielding, Curran's brief altercation with the advancing cameraman occurred.
Afghanistan's start at the Arun Jaitley Stadium was commendable, with openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran establishing a solid 114-run partnership. Their collaboration set Afghanistan on course for a substantial total.
England's skipper Jos Buttler chose to bowl first upon winning the toss. The reigning champions kept their previous match's line-up intact, implying Ben Stokes' continued absence. Speaking during the toss, Buttler commented, “No particular reason (to bowl first), looks like a good wicket and we’ll like to chase. Looks like a good batting strip, South Africa and India posted big scores. I think we’ve improved a lot from the first to the second game, we just have to show the same intensity.”
While Afghanistan's skipper, Hashmatullah Shahidi, did tweak their playing XI, the team remains winless after losses to Bangladesh and India. Shahidi remarked, “We wanted to bowl first, but this is a 100-over game, we’ll have to bat well.” Adding to the pitch conditions, he said, “Looks like a batting pitch, expecting the same conditions like the last game. Hopeful of doing well and putting pressure on them. We’ve good spin options and anything around 300 should be a good score.”
Gurbaz was in brilliant form, smashing a 57-ball 80, before he was run out after a confusion with his skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi.
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