Star England batter Joe Root achieved his first ODI century in almost six years. The last time he made a one-day international ton was against the West Indies in 2019 by a 34-year-old. Since then, he has occasionally found himself dropped from the squad-including from the ODI World Cup 2023 in India-but his excellent showing in red-ball cricket led to a call-up back into the ODIs.
This is Root’s 17th ODI hundred, and overall, he has made 53. That ties him on the list of cricketers who have scored the most centuries in international cricket, along with Brian Lara. He has also set the mark of scoring most centuries by an England cricketer in professional cricket.
Meanwhile, Root’s century kept England alive in the chase against Afghanistan in the ongoing Champions Trophy 2025. Chasing 326, the Three Lions fell into a deep hole at the 133/4 mark; something special would have had to happen to change the course of their battle against the quality Afghan bowlers.
Harry Brook and Jos Buttler supported him well in the middle for a while but neither of these cricketers could prolong their innings. However, there is still much to do for Root, since losing against Afghanistan will knock England out of contention in the semi-finals in the Champions Trophy.
Afghanistan batter Ibrahim Zadran registered 177 runs in the first innings at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. This was the highest individual score by a cricketer in the tournament’s history. The record was held by Ben Duckett, who established it earlier in the tournament against Australia.
Moreover, Zadran broke the record for the highest international score by an Afghanistan cricketer and became the first one from that nation to score a century in both the ODI World Cup and the Champions Trophy.
