Poor death bowling and lack of support for Root cost England, says Buttler

They succumb to their second successive defeat of the tournament

ICC Men's Champions Trophy - Group B - England v Afghanistan - Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan - Feb 26, 2025 England's Jos Buttler walks off after being caught by Afghanistan's Rahmat Shah off the bowling of Azmatullah Omarzai REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro

Bleeding runs in the death overs and failing to offer adequate support to Joe Root cost England dearly, captain Jos Buttler said after their elimination from the Champions Trophy following an eight-run loss to Afghanistan on Wednesday.

England succumbed to their second successive defeat of the tournament despite Root's magnificent 120 that kept them in the hunt until the 46th over when the batter fell.

Afghanistan earlier rode Ibrahim Zadran's record 177 to rack up 325-7 after electing to bat in the make-or-break Group B contest at the Gaddafi Stadium.

"Obviously out of the tournament is really disappointing. I thought we had our chances in the game and was gutted to come out on the wrong side," a crestfallen Buttler said.

"I think Joe Root played an unbelievable innings and we needed another one of the top six batters to stay with him for longer and take the game deeper.

"He and Jamie Overton put on a great partnership there but in the last 10 overs it got away from us a bit."

Injuries to Mark Wood and Liam Livingstone during the match upset Buttler's bowling plans in the final overs when Afghanistan stepped on the gas.

"Credit to Ibrahim, he played a fantastic innings," Buttler said.

"If we look back and reflect - 113 off the last 10 pushed Afghanistan up to a very good score on that pitch."

Buttler (38), a white-ball stalwart, was among the English batsmen, who failed to convert their starts into big knocks.

Asked about the reason behind his poor run of form, Buttler said: "If I knew, I wouldn't be playing the way I am. I don't feel far away, it's disappointing when you're not reaching the level of the best in the world."

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi showered praise on both Zadran and all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai, who made a quickfire 41 and then returned to claim 5-58.

"He's brilliant," Shahidi said of player of the match Zadran.

"When we were three down at the beginning, there was a lot of pressure, the partnership was crucial. It was one of the best ODI innings I’ve seen.

"Azmat played with good intent, batted good, bowled well for us."