Afghanistan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai shone with a performance for the ages, helping knock England out of the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Batting first, Afghanistan made 325-7 on the back of Ibrahim Zadran's 177, the highest individual score by an Afghan batter in ODIs. He also had able support from Hashmatullah Shahidi (40 off 67), Mohammad Nabi (40 off 24), and Omarzai (41 off 31), who batted at No.6.
In the thrill-a-minute run-chase, Omarzai first knocked over Phil Salt in the fourth over before owning the death overs where he took four crucial wickets, those of Jos Buttler, Joe Root, Jamie Overton, and Adil Rashid to finish with figures of 5-58, his first five-wicket haul in ODIs.
Also read: Ibrahim Zadran sets new world record with two ODI 150s before turning 24
Omarzai joins three legends with all-round effort
Omarzai, who was named the ICC ODI cricketer of the year in 2024, did a rare double of scoring 40-plus runs and taking five-plus wickets in an ODI en route to England's elimination on Wednesday (February 26).
It was only the 34th such instance in the history of men's ODI cricket, and 39th in ODI cricket across genders.
However, three of the 33 previous such performances in the men's game had come in a World Cup, and none of them at a Champions Trophy game. To top that, the three players who had achieved this feat before Omarzai happen to be three decorated all-rounders of the game: Yuvraj Singh, Kapil Dev, and Shakib Al Hasan.
Yuvraj had done the double at the 2011 World Cup against Ireland, taking 5-31 and scoring 50* with the bat. Shakib's effort came against Afghanistan at the 2019 World Cup where he scored 51 and took 5-29, while Kapil did it against Australia at the 1983 World Cup, scoring 40 and taking 5-43 (the first such instance in ODI history).
Following the victory, Afghanistan's road to the semi-final has come down to a replay of the epic 2023 World Cup clash against Australia where they were outplayed by Glenn Maxwell. If Afghanistan win, they will qualify for their second straight ICC tournament semi-final. If they lose, they will be out.
Players with 40-plus runs, 5-plus wickets in a men's ODI
| Player | Runs scored | Wickets taken | Runs conceded | Catches | Opposition | Ground | Date |
| Azmatullah Omarzai (AFG) | 41 | 5 | 58 | 1 | v England | Lahore | 26 Feb 2025 |
| Gulsan Jha (NEP) | 53 | 5 | 47 | 0 | v Oman | King City (NW) | 18 Sep 2024 |
| Mohammad Nabi (AFG) | 48 | 5 | 17 | 0 | v Ireland | Sharjah | 12 Mar 2024 |
| Marco Jansen (SA) | 47 | 5 | 39 | 0 | v Australia | Johannesburg | 17 Sep 2023 |
| Dunith Wellalage (SL) | 42* | 5 | 40 | 2 | v India | Colombo (RPS) | 12 Sep 2023 |
| Bas de Leede (NED) | 123 | 5 | 52 | 1 | v Scotland | Bulawayo | 6 Jul 2023 |
| JJ Smit (NAM) | 56 | 5 | 26 | 0 | v Oman | Windhoek | 26 Nov 2021 |
| Simi Singh (IRE) | 54* | 5 | 10 | 0 | v U.A.E. | Abu Dhabi | 18 Jan 2021 |
| Shakib Al Hasan (BAN) | 51 | 5 | 29 | 0 | v Afghanistan | Southampton | 24 Jun 2019 |
| Rohan Mustafa (UAE) | 109 | 5 | 25 | 0 | v P.N.G. | Abu Dhabi | 4 Apr 2017 |
| Paul Stirling (IRE) | 95 | 6 | 55 | 0 | v Afghanistan | Greater Noida | 17 Mar 2017 |
| Dasun Shanaka (SL) | 42 | 5 | 43 | 0 | v Ireland | Dublin (Malahide) | 16 Jun 2016 |
| Josh Davey (SCOT) | 53* | 6 | 28 | 1 | v Afghanistan | Abu Dhabi | 14 Jan 2015 |
| Shahid Afridi (PAK) | 76 | 7 | 12 | 1 | v West Indies | Providence | 14 Jul 2013 |
| Shahid Afridi (PAK) | 75 | 5 | 35 | 1 | v Sri Lanka | Sharjah | 20 Nov 2011 |
| Yuvraj Singh (IND) | 50* | 5 | 31 | 1 | v Ireland | Bengaluru | 6 Mar 2011 |
| Thilan Thushara (SL) | 40 | 5 | 47 | 0 | v India | Colombo (RPS) | 27 Aug 2008 |
| S Dhaniram (CAN) | 79 | 5 | 32 | 0 | v Bermuda | King City (NW) | 29 Jun 2008 |
| Paul Collingwood (ENG) | 112* | 6 | 31 | 1 | v Bangladesh | Nottingham | 21 Jun 2005 |
| Chris Gayle (WI) | 60 | 5 | 46 | 0 | v Australia | St George's | 1 Jun 2003 |
| Ronnie Irani (ENG) | 53 | 5 | 26 | 1 | v India | The Oval | 9 Jul 2002 |
| Scott Styris (NZ) | 63* | 6 | 25 | 0 | v West Indies | Port of Spain | 12 Jun 2002 |
| Nicky Boje (SA) | 49 | 5 | 21 | 0 | v Australia | Cape Town | 9 Apr 2002 |
| Sourav Ganguly (IND) | 71* | 5 | 34 | 0 | v Zimbabwe | Kanpur | 11 Dec 2000 |
| Shahid Afridi (PAK) | 61 | 5 | 40 | 0 | v England | Lahore | 27 Oct 2000 |
| Graham Hick (ENG) | 80 | 5 | 33 | 0 | v Zimbabwe | Harare | 20 Feb 2000 |
| Abdul Razzaq (PAK) | 70* | 5 | 48 | 0 | v India | Hobart | 21 Jan 2000 |
| Lance Klusener (SA) | 54 | 6 | 49 | 1 | v Sri Lanka | Lahore | 6 Nov 1997 |
| Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) | 44 | 5 | 58 | 0 | v West Indies | Port of Spain | 6 Jun 1997 |
| Mark Waugh (AUS) | 57 | 5 | 24 | 1 | v West Indies | Melbourne | 15 Dec 1992 |
| Viv Richards (WI) | 44 | 6 | 41 | 1 | v India | Delhi | 23 Oct 1989 |
| K Srikkanth (IND) | 70 | 5 | 27 | 1 | v New Zealand | Visakhapatnam | 10 Dec 1988 |
| Viv Richards (WI) | 119 | 5 | 41 | 0 | v New Zealand | Dunedin | 18 Mar 1987 |
| Kapil Dev (IND) | 40 | 5 | 43 | 2 | v Australia | Nottingham | 13 Jun 1983 |
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