Afghanistan Triumphs Over Pakistan, Winning by 8 Wickets

Afghanistan Triumphs Over Pakistan, Emerges Victorious by 8 Wickets

Afghanistan won their first-ever ODI against Pakistan as they clinched a stunning eight-wicket victory.

(Cricket News) Afghanistan records the third upset in the 2023 World Cup as they beat Pakistan by 8 wickets. Before the start of this match, Afghanistan was at the bottom of the table. After emerging victorious, they jump to the 6th position. They are just one point away from entering the top four.

Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first. Pakistan were in a respectable position after the first powerplay, scoring 56 at a loss of 0 wickets. Azmatullah Shahidi drew the first blood by taking the wicket of Imam-ul-Haq.

Out came Pakistan skipper Babar Azam. Babar Azam and Abdullah Shafique stitched together a 100+-run partnership. Both of them found frequent boundaries and rotated strike often. The partnership was broken by debutant Noor Ahmad, who took the wicket of Abdullah Shafique.

Mohammad Rizwan, who is the best batsman for Pakistan in this World Cup so far, was dismissed early by Noor Ahmad. A few overs later, Babar Azam was also dismissed by the impressive Noor Ahmad, who was utilizing the spin conditions of Chepauk to the fullest. Pakistan were 206-5 in 42 overs.

Fireworks from Shadab Khan and Iftikhar Ahmad propelled the score to 282-7 in 50 overs, giving the Pakistan bowlers a respectable score to defend. This would be the highest total Afghanistan had to chase in a World Cup game.

End of second innings: Pakistan 282-7; Babar Azam: 74 (92); Abdullah Shafique:58 (75); Noor Ahmad: 10-49-0-3; Naveen-ul-Haq: 7-52-0-3.

Afghanistan got off to a flyer of a start, as they were 60-0 at the end of the first powerplay. The openers played the new ball well and were also cautious with the spinners. Both the openers, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, scored fifties and stitched together a 100+ run partnership.

Shaheen Afridi drew the first blood by taking the wicket of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and Hasan Ali struck a few balls later by sending Ibrahim Zadran back to the pavilion. Afghanistan needed 91 runs in 96 balls.

The pressure did not strike the Afghanistan batsman, as they played their strokes freely and gave the Pakistan bowler a run for their money. Rahmat Shah scored a half century, while Afghanistan skipper Hasmatullah Shahidi was two short of a half century. Afghanistan chased down the target with one over to spare and earned their two valuable points.

End of second innings: Afghanistan 286-2; Ibrahim Zadran 87 (113); Rahmat Shah 77 (84); Hasan Ali 10-44-1-1; Shaheen Afridi 10-56-0-1.