ICC World Cup 2023: It will be unfair to Afghanistan if we call their 8-wicket victory against Pakistan another big upset in the current edition of the World Cup. Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side is known for their sharp bowling, especially spin, but today the team displayed the quality of batting on the slow pitch of Chennai and punished Pakistan bowlers like never before. Now, we had expected that Pakistan bowling may face problems on the pitch of Chennai as their spinners were not that effective in the ICC World Cup 2023, but chasing a target of 282 on the pitch of Chennai is a mountainous task for any batting order.
Pakistan innings
After winning the toss, Babar Azam-side chose to bat and they wanted to give a big score to Afghanistan. Pakistan openers Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq started well and scored good runs in the beginning. But, pacer Azmatullah Omarzai dismissed Imam-ul-Haq to provide the team with the first wicket.
Skipper Babar Azam walked to the crease with much cheer, but everybody knew that the batter was struggling to find his form in the current edition of the World Cup. He started slow and built a partnership with Abdullah Shafique, who going forward smashed his second 50 of the tournament. But, soon after completing his 50, debutant spinner Noor Ahmad sent him back to the pavilion.
Then came in form Muhammad Rizwan, only to walk back soon as Noor Ahmad got rid of him too in his next over. Saud Shakeel was next and he had a clear role to support his skipper and stabilise the Pakistan innings. The duo did well on the crease against dangerous Afghanistan spinners, but soon Saud Shakeel lost his patience against Mohammad Nabi, and the ball went straight into the hands of Rashid Khan.
Shadab Khan came before Iftikhar Ahmed as they wanted to save ‘Chacha Jan’ for the last few overs. Babar Azam also started opening his arms and after smashing a beautiful six against Noor Ahmad, he gave his wicket to the debutant spinner. Iftikhar Ahmed and Shadab Khan had a clear role now, smashing big shots and taking the score as high as possible.
The overs of spinners were finished and pacers were back in the game, and both Iftikhar Ahmed and Shadab Khan smashed big shots till the final over during which pacer Naveen-ul-Haq dismissed both batters to make a slight comeback. Pakistan was 282/7 after 50 overs.
Afghanistan innings
283 was a challenging target on the pitch of Chennai and Afghanistan batting has not displayed that great potential so far in the series, but today was the day when openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran played in a 130-run opening partnership. The batters played cautiously and made it a point to not give their wicket. It is only in the 22nd over that pacer Shaheen Afridi managed to take out Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
Then came Rahmat Shah and Pakistan’s long wait for the wicket restarted. The Afghanistan batters showed exemplary patience and kept the scoreboard running. Rahmat Shah also opened his arms to slam 2 sixes and Pakistan was slowly moving towards their third consecutive defeat. But, hope re-emerged in the form of Ibrahim Zadran, who was dismissed by Hasan Ali.
Skipper Hasmatullah Shahidi came on the crease and continued the momentum with Rahmat Shah. The duo played beautifully to take Afghanistan to victory by 8 wickets and this is the highest score ever chased by Afghanistan.
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Updated: 23 Oct 2023, 10:07 PM IST
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Hasibur Rahaman is a passionate sports journalist. He covers everything from cricket to field hockey, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis of sporting events, both within India and on the international stage.
