England on Tuesday thrashed cricketing minnows Afghanistan by 150 runs as Eoin Morgan smashed the World Cup record for the most numbers of sixes, previously jointly held by Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, and Rohit Sharma. Morgan’s knock of 148 runs from 71 balls included 17 sixes.
Batting first, England piled up a total of 397-6 with English batsmen hitting 25 sixes in total, which is also a new world record by any team a One Day International matches. Also joining the party were Jonny Bairstow (90 runs off 99 balls) and Joe Root (88 runs off 82 balls). The English total of 397 is now the highest total in a World Cup after they amassed a total of 386-6 against Bangladesh.
Afghanistan batted valiantly and ended up scoring 247 runs in their quota of 50 overs for the loss of eight wickets. Hashmatullah Shahidi with his knock of 76 runs was the highest scorer for his side. For England, Jofra Archer and Adil Rashid took three wickets each.
England have played five matches and with 8 points they are topping the points table. After five matches, Australia too have acquired eight points but England have better run rate. New Zealand and India are placed at number three and four respectively with seven points each.
Morgan was adjudged Man Of The Match for his historic knock.
Scores in brief:
England 397-6 (50 overs): Morgan 148 (71), Bairstow 90 (99), Root 88 (82), Gulbadin 3-68
Afghanistan 247-8 (50 overs): Hashmatullah 76, Archer 3-52, Rashid 3-66