England faced elimination from the Champions Trophy on Wednesday, suffering an eight-run defeat to Afghanistan in Lahore. Under the leadership of Jos Buttler, the team commenced their tournament with a loss to Australia and was anticipated to recover with a victory. However, it was the resilient Afghan team that regained their form after their initial defeat to South Africa.

In a match where Afghanistan set a formidable target of 326 runs, Azmatullah Omarzai delivered an outstanding performance, claiming five wickets as England was dismissed for 317 in 49.5 overs. Joe Root emerged as the standout performer for England, scoring 120 runs off 111 balls. Nevertheless, the Afghan bowlers excelled, with Mohammad Nabi contributing with two crucial wickets.

Afghanistan had earlier posted a total of 325 runs for the loss of seven wickets in their allotted 50 overs, highlighted by Ibarahim Zadran's impressive 177 runs off 146 balls. Jofra Archer was the pick of the bowlers for England, taking three wickets.

Sunil Gavaskar destroys England

In the aftermath of England's exit at the Gaddafi Stadium, Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar criticized Buttler and his team, suggesting they often resort to excuses rather than focusing on improvement. He noted that they might even blame India for playing all their matches in Dubai.

“They will still come and start moaning the next morning. See, they cannot lose. If they lose, there has to be an excuse, and the excuse cannot be that they weren’t better that day or that the other team was superior; they will start blaming everything,” he remarked on the Dressing Room show.

“They will also start blaming India because India is playing all their matches in Dubai and questioning why we are not playing our matches at one venue,” he added.

India did not travel to Pakistan due to ongoing political tensions between the two nations. The ICC permitted India to play all their matches at a neutral venue, which was designated as Dubai. Consequently, England joins Pakistan and Bangladesh in being eliminated from the Champions Trophy 2025.

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