Afghanistan continued their remarkable run in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, securing their second major upset of the tournament with a resounding eight-wicket win over Pakistan. This victory followed closely on the heels of their stunning win against England.
This is also Afghanistan’s first-ever ODI win over Pakistan in eight matches and also the highest-ever successful chase against the Men in Green.
Babar Azam won the toss and chose to bat against Afghanistan’s spin-heavy attack, which kept things tight during the initial 10 powerplay overs. Azmatullah Omarzai, the pacer, removed Imam-ul-Haq for 17.
Teenage spinner Noor Ahmad had a memorable World Cup debut, taking three wickets for 49 runs, dismissing Abdullah Shafique (58) and Mohammad Rizwan (eight). Babar Azam (74) also fell to Ahmad, leaving Iftikhar Ahmed and Shadab Khan to provide a late flourish.
Iftikhar played aggressively, hitting four sixes in his 40, while Shadab contributed an equal number of runs before getting out on the last ball of the innings. Pakistan posted 282-7 in their allotted 50 overs.
In the pursuit of 283, opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz (65 off 53 balls) and his partner Ibrahim Zadran (87 off 113 balls) established a solid opening partnership of 130, setting the perfect foundation for the chase.
Shaheen Afridi removed Gurbaz, but Zadran and Rahmat Shah (77 not out) continued the good work.
Hasan Ali eventually ended Zadran’s brave innings, but Shah and Shahidi comfortably handled the Pakistan attack during their unbroken 96-run partnership to chase down 283 with six balls to spare on a challenging Chepauk track.
Ibrahim Zadran was adjudged ‘Player of the Match’ for his risk-free 87 runs of 113 balls, which included 10 boundaries.
Pakistan’s skipper, Babar Azam, expressed his disappointment after Pakistan’s third defeat in five matches, acknowledging that their semi-final hopes were now uncertain, saying, “That really hurt us. We got a good total, but our bowling was not up to the mark. In World Cups, you need all three departments firing, and we haven’t done that.”
Afghanistan’s captain, Hashmatullah Shahidi, expressed his joy after their second victory in five matches, saying, “This win tastes nice. The way we chased today was very professional.”
With this win, Afghanistan now jumps to the 6th position in the points table, just one below Pakistan, who are standing at 5th.
Final scores: PAK 282-7 (50.0) | AFG 286-2 (49.0)
