Afghanistan have stunned Pakistan to grab their second win in ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. After winning the toss and opting to bat first at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Pakistan posted 282/7. In response, Afghanistan reached their target with 8 wickets in hand to taste a win over the Men in Green for the first-time ever in One Day Internationals (ODIs).
While Pakistan posted 282 riding on half-centuries from Abdullah Shafique (54 off 75) and Babar Azam (74 off 92) and also a fine sixth-wicket partnership worth 73 off 45 between Shadab Khan (40 off 38) and Iftikhar Ahmed (40 off 27), Afghanistan never gave the Men in Green a moment in the second half with their openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (65 off 53) and Ibrahim Zadan (87 off 113) putting on 130 for the first wicket.
Even though the openers departed, Afghanistan did not panic with Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi finishing off the match for the team. While Shah scored an unbeaten 77 off 84, the Afghanistan skipper was not out on 48 off 45. Youngster Noor Ahmad with the ball in hand was also among the star performers for the team with the teenager emerging as the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3 for 49. Naveen-ul-Haq picked 2 for 52 off 7 overs, Mohammad Nabi’s 1 for 31 off 10 were also impressive while Azmatullah Omarzai also picked up a wicket.
As far as Pakistan are concerned, a side that is known for their fast bowling did produce both the wickets to fall with Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hasan Ali getting a wicket each but Haris Rauf’s ordinary run in the competition continued and their spinners failed to be as effective as their Afghanistan counterparts on a wicket that was expected to assist the spinners. This is Pakistan’s third defeat in the competition following losses to India and Australia.
For Afganistan this will be a massive moment in their cricket history as this is their first-ever win over Paksitan in ODI cricket history and their second win in this World Cup with the previous one also coming against a former world champion much like Pakistan, England. Both Pakistan and Afghanistan now have 4 points from 5 matches.
