A six hitting, record-setting day from skipper Eoin Morgan steered England to a crushing 150-run victory over Afghanistan at Old Trafford, Manchester, Tuesday and top of the ICC 2019 World Cup table.
Morgan smashed a record 17 sixes in his innings in cruising to 148 as England rattled up massive tournament high 397 for six against Afghanistan.
Afghanistan at least eventually did well enough to bat out their 50 overs for 247 for eight in a game they were never expected to win after the Morgan onslaught.
Afghan middle-order batsman Hashmatullah Shahidi scored a fighting 76 off 100 balls but did not have enough support around him.
Pacer Jofra Archer was again the pick of the England bowlers with three for 52 while spinner Adil Rashid also had three wickets.
The win pushed England to joint top of the table with Australia, both teams now on eight points but England with better run rate following Morgan’s batting heroics.
Earlier, Morgan, who was dropped on 28, bettered veteran West Indies opener Chris Gayle's 2015 World Cup record against Zimbabwe by two more hits over the boundary, achieving the feat with a blast off Afghanistan skipper Gulbadin Naib. However, the left-hander was out in the next ball attempting to launch another delivery out the venue only to find long-off.
Some last minute hitting from Moeen Ali then ensured England got close to 400 with an unbeaten 31 from nine balls. Jonny Bairstow hit 90 while Joe Root added 88 in England’s massive total.
Morgan reached his century in 57 balls the fourth fastest in World Cup history, which came off 50 balls from Ireland’s Kevin O'Brien against England in 2011.
Summarised scores:
ENGLAND 397-6 (Eoin Morgan 148, Jonny Bairstow 90, Joe Root 88, Dawlat Zadran 3/85, Gulbadin Naib 3/68) v AFGHANISTAN 247-8 (Hashmatullah Shahidi 76, Rahmat Shah 46, Jofra Archer 3/52, Adil Rashid 3/66)
Result: England won by 150 runs.