Virender Sehwag took a hilarious dig at Michael Vaughan who had predicted England would reach the semi-finals of the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023 tournament. Incidentally, this post on X of Vaughan came to light after England lost to Afghanistan for the first time in ODIs, and in World Cups.
After losing to New Zealand in their opening game and defeating Bangladesh in their most recent game in Dharamshala, England was on a losing streak. On the other side, Afghanistan had dropped both of their opening two games.
Jos Buttler, the captain of England, won the toss and decided to field first even though South Africa scored 428 runs there a few matches before.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored the most runs for Afghanistan with 80, helping the team to a total of 284 runs in 49.5 overs. Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Ibrahim Zadran each scored 28 runs, while Ikram Alikhil scored 58. Mark Wood had a bowling average of 2/50 while Adil Rashid had 3/42 for England.
The best pitch, which suited their bowling style, was available to Afghanistan’s bowlers. Jonny Bairstow was out by LBW in the second over thanks to Fazalhaq Farooqi, and wickets kept falling regularly after that.
“Just One In 8 Attempts”- Virender Sehwag Trolls Michael Vaughan On His England In Semifinal Post
The Afghan spin combo of Mohammad Nabi (2/16), Rashid Khan (3/37), and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (3/51) completed the remaining work. Harry Brook played a valiant knock of 66 with 7 fours and 1 six, while Dawid Malan and Adil Rashid both hit 32 and Adil Rashid made 20 runs.
However, this was insufficient as England continued to lose wickets, which eventually led to Mark Wood’s dismissal by Rashid Khan in the 41st over, giving Afghanistan their most illustrious victory in the annals of international competition. England lost after being bowled out for 215 runs.
After this, Michael Vaughan posted “England in the World Cup semis..” to which Virender Sehwag trolled him badly. Sehwag pointed out that England has made it into the knockouts only once in the last 8 attempts. England didn’t make it into the semis in 1996, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2023
Here is the post:
Not in 1996 , 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2023 .
Just one in 8 attempts. https://t.co/VeB0rBZt8O— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) October 16, 2023