'Delhi Sach Mein Dil Walon ki Hai': Rashid Khan Grateful for Crowd Support During Historic World Cup Win Over England

Afghanistan recorded a historic win in the ongoing ICC ODI World Cup when they got the better of reigning champions England in a spectacular fashion on Monday in Delhi.

Afghan allrounder Rashid Khan expressed his gratitude to fans who gathered in numbers to enjoy the thrilling contest at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium.

It was Afghanistan’s second consecutive match in Delhi. Before going against England, the Afghan brigade endured an 8-wicket defeat at the hands of hosts India at this venue.

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Apart from thanking the crowd at he venue, Rashid also made sure to mention all the Afghanistan fans who kept faith in the national team and cheered for them from different parts of the globe.

“Delhi sach mein dil walon ki hai. A huge thank you to all the fans at the stadium who supported us and kept us going throughout the game. And to all our supporters around the world emoji, thank you for your love,” Rashid wrote on X (formerly XI).

The 25-year-old played a vital role in Afghanistan’s impressive show against England.

After contributing 22 runs with the bat, Rashid picked up three wickets in England’s chase to wrap up with the best bowling figure for his team.

He sent off middle-order batter Liam Livingstone before dismissing two tailenders – Adil Rashid and Mark Wood.

Apart from Rashid, Mujeeb Ur Rahman also got three wickets under his belt. Among other Afghan bowlers, Mohammad Nabi took a couple of wickets, while Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-Ul-Haq took a wicket each.

England won the toss and sent Afghanistan to bat first. The opening pair of Rahamanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran gave Afghanistan a powerful start by racking up a 114-run partnership.

While Zadran left for the pavilion on 28, Gurbaz scored a fine half-century before an unfortunate run-out ended his innings at 80 runs – he whacked eight fours and four sixes during his 57-ball stay.

The upcoming Afghan batters, however, failed to keep the scoreboard ticking. Following the fall of two early wickets, Ikram Alikhil took over the charge and went on to register a composed half-century. The wicketkeeper-batter scored 58 runs off 64 balls, a knock which was laced with three fours and two maximums.

Riding on cameos from Rashid and Mujeeb, Afghanistan posted 285 runs on the board.

The nature of the pitch meant the chase wasn’t going to be a cakewalk for England and Afghanistan put up an enthralling show with the ball.

Only two of the English batters could breach the 30-run mark, with Harry Brook’s 66 being the highest score. England finally folded for 215 runs, losing all 10 wickets inside 41 overs. This was the first World Cup triumph for Afghanistan over a Test-playing nation.