In a stunning upset, Afghanistan clinched their first-ever win against Pakistan in ODIs in Chennai on Monday. This victory, by 8 wickets in a display of sheer dominance, follows their earlier triumph against England, and leaves the war-torn nation with a serious shot at qualification for the semifinals.
Led by an aggressive opening partnership between Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Afghanistan easily chased down the challenging target of 283 set for them by their far more pedigreed neighbours, almost never looking troubled. Pakistan's bowlers hardly got a look in.
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Once Zadran and Gurbaz departed, Rahmat Shah and Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi's unbeaten 96-run stand secured the win. Shah scored 77 not out while Shahidi added 48, sealing the victory with a boundary off Shaheen Shah Afridi with the scores level.
Pakistan, opting to bat, managed 282-7, with captain Babar Azam (74) and Abdullah Shafique (58) scoring half-centuries.
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“This win tastes nice. The way we chased today, it was very professional," said Shahidi, reflecting on their historic World Cup journey.
The jubilant Afghanistan players received a resounding ovation from the crowd at the Chidambaram Stadium as they embarked on a celebratory victory lap, with star legspinner Rashid Khan proudly donning the country’s flag.
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It also marked Afghanistan's highest, highest successful chase in an ODI, surpassing the 274 against the United Arab Emirates nine years prior.
A third successive loss pushed Pakistan into a must-win situation for a place in the semifinals with only four points from five matches. Afghanistan also kept its slim hopes alive with four points in as many games as it moved into the No. 6 spot, behind Pakistan on net run-rate, leaving England at the bottom of the table.
Pakistan has struggled to make up for the absence of Naseem Shah after the fast bowler was ruled out for the tournament due to shoulder injury.
The pace trio of Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali and Haris Rauf couldn’t strike early and let Gurbaz and Zadran score at a brisk pace in the powerplay.
The selection of two legspinners – Shadab Khan and Usama Mir – also backfired as both spinners bowled plenty of full tosses and couldn’t find their lengths.
Gurbaz finally got out when he tried to slice Afridi in his return spell, but the century partnership had already raised Afghanistan’s hopes of striking another upset.
Zadran looked set for a century before Hasan found an outside edge but the spinners continued to leak runs with Shahidi and Shah rotating strike at ease before taking Afghanistan home to a memorable win with an over to spare.
Babar's cautious 92-ball innings laid a solid foundation for Pakistan's late onslaught, complemented by Iftikhar Ahmed's explosive 40 off 27, featuring four sixes and two fours. In his debut World Cup match, 18-year-old left-arm spinner Noor Ahmad kept Babar in check on a sluggish pitch, claiming an impressive 3-49.
Shafique displayed early aggression, notching two sixes and five boundaries before the spinners tightened the screws. Ahmad swiftly took two wickets, dismissing Shafique lbw and top-edging a sweep from Pakistan's leading scorer in the tournament, Mohammad Rizwan, who managed only eight.
Mohammad Nabi bowled an economical 10-over spell, snagging Saud Shakeel's wicket before Ahmad caught Babar at extra cover in the 42nd over. Shadab and Iftikhar then hammered 61 off the last five overs, but it wasn't sufficient against the clinical Afghan side.