Afghanistan causes another upset, trounce Pakistan by a convincing 8 wickets

Afghanistan openers Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz congratulate each other during their 130 run partnership which laid the foundation for the victory against Pakistan

 Afghanistan who outplayed England in the cricket World Cup pulled off a second shock when they defeated Pakistan comprehensively by eight wickets at the MA Chiddambaram Stadium here Monday to record their first win over them in eight ODI contests.

It was a creditable win for the Afghans who chased down Pakistan’s total of 282-7, to win two matches in a World Cup for the first time in their history. It was also their highest and successful run chase in an ODI.

The stage for this historic win was set by openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (65 off 53 balls, 9 fours, 1 six) and Ibrahim Zadran (87 off 113 balls, 10 fours) who shared a partnership of 130 off 127 balls.

Rahmat Shah (77* off 84 balls, 5 fours, 2 sixes) and skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi (48* off 45 balls, 4 fours) continued the good work to see Afghanistan home with an unbroken stand of 96 off 93 balls as Pakistan’s game simply fell away on the face of Afghanistan’s assault. 

Babar Azam’s 30th ODI fifty and a big-hitting cameo from Iftikhar Ahmed led Pakistan’s strong batting display and helped them to 282/7 on a bone-dry surface. As many as 38 overs were bowled by the spinners, which is the third-most bowled in a World Cup match. Things looked on the upswing for Pakistan when Abdullah Shafique swung a Naveen-ul-Haq delivery for a maximum in the fifth over. It was the first six hit by a Pakistan batter in the PowerPlay in 2023. Both openers, Imam-ul-Haque and Shafique, looked at ease against the new ball and made use of the best batting conditions on offer to post a 56-run opening stand. Shafique continued his good World Cup form and raised a run-a-ball 50 (5 fours, 2 sixes) his second in the tournament to go along with a hundred.

It was Noor Ahmad, in the side for Fazalhaq Farooqi, who broke the 54-run stand with wickets in back-to-back overs. The left-arm leggie first trapped Shafique lbw and then drew a top-edge from Mohammad Rizwan, leaving Pakistan struggling on a tough surface to score. Another 43-run stand between Babar and Saud Shakeel brought in some relief for Pakistan but Mohammad Nabi broke that stand, getting Shakeel caught at mid-on after a flurry of dots. 

However, it was Noor’s dismissal of Babar for 74 (92 balls, 4 fours, 1 six) in the 42nd over that really threatened to knock the wind out of Pakistan. Luckily for them, Iftikhar (40 off 27 balls, 2 fours, 4 sixes) and Shadab Khan (40 off 38 balls, 1 six, 1 four), back in the side for ill Mohammad Nawaz, together added 73 runs for the sixth wicket.

Noor, the youngest player to feature in this World Cup at 18, returned figures of 3 for 49 in his first World Cup match and helped Afghanistan with breakthroughs on a day their lead spinner Rashid Khan went wicketless.

Scores: Pakistan 282-7 (50) (Abdullah Shafique 58, Babar Azam 74, Saud Shakeel 25, Shadab Khan 40, Ifthikar Ahmed 40, Naveen-ul-Haq 2/52, Noor Ahmed 3/49)

Afghanistan 286-2 (49) (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 65, Ibrahim Zadran 87, Rahmat Shah 77*, Hashmatullah Shahidi 48*)