Pakistan, Feb. 27 -- Joe Root's 17th one-day international hundred could not prevent England crashing out of the Champions Trophy, after losing to Afghanistan by eight runs in a floodlit thriller at the Gaddafi Stadium.

Jos Buttler's team headed into the must-win Group B fixture with the captain himself acknowledging he felt under pressure for his job, but the gravity of the situation could not inspire a change in fortunes despite Root's heroic efforts.

Instead, Ibrahim Zadran added to the list of opposition batsmen to have struck devastating, decisive hundreds against them in the first two months of 2025 following blitzes by the likes of Abhishek Sharma and Josh Inglis.

This was their 18th defeat in 25 matches since defending their wo...