ISLAMABAD: The Afghanistan cricket side is no longer a minnow and is emerging as a key threat to major teams, particularly after defeating the defending champion England a few days back. On Monday, Afghanistan repeated the same winning passion and defeated Pakistan for the first time by 8 wickets in the ICC contest played at Chennai on Monday. It was also the first win by Afghanistan in the ODI against Pakistan. Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, and Rehmat Shah played tremendously to outclass Pakistan in the mega event.
Chasing a target of 283 runs to win, Afghan openers took a flying start and managed to secure their wickets in the first 10 overs. They also reached 60 runs without a loss in the 1st 10 overs. Both Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran played sensibly and took Pakistan’s bowling line under pressure. In the first 16 overs, they also completed the 100-run stand and consolidated their position.
Later, both also completed their half-centuries. Babar Utilized all his bowlers but was unable to break the opening partnership. However, when Babar reintroduced Shaheen Shah Afridi in the 22nd over, he managed to break the partnership and dismissed Gurbaz on 65 runs when the total reached 130. However, till then, a lot of water has been flown under the bridge as Afghanistan were needed just 153 runs in 29.9 overs.
After the first dismissal, Afghan batters managed to keep the run rate within reach as Ibrahim Zadran and number three batter Rehmat Shah pushed their team ahead with ease.
Both the batters contributed 60 crucial runs for the side. In the 34th over, Hasan Ali succeeded in removing the set batter Ibrahim Zadran on 87, when the total reached 190. However, Afghanistan was still in a batter position as they required 93 runs in 16 overs. Ibrahim was replaced by Hashmatullah Shahidi, who along with Rehmat Shah, took their side towards the total while adding crucial runs. Meanwhile, Rehmat Shah also completed his half-century. Pakistani bowlers tried hard to restrict Afghanistan to some extent; however, were unable to take wickets. Afghanistan won the match by 8 wickets to register a historic win, not only in the ODI but also in the mega event.
From Pakistan, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hasan Ali got one wicket each.
Pakistan Batting Against Afghanistan
Earlier, winning the toss, Pakistan decided to bat first. Both the openers, Abdullah Shafiq and Imamu-ul-Haq, took a decent start and managed to maintain 5 runs per over in the first 10 overs without losing a wicket. However, in the 11th over, Afghanistan succeeded in taking the first wicket when Azmatullah Omarzai caught Imam on a typical short-pitch delivery, which mostly proved lethal for Imam. He scored 17 on 22 balls. Imam was replaced by Babar who along with Abdullah Shafiq, drove the innings ahead by 100 runs. But in the 23rd over, Abdullah Shafiq was removed by the newcomer Noor Ahmad. Abdulah went on 58 on 75 balls.
From the second dismissal, Afghan spinners started dominating against Pakistan, particularly Nabi and Noor Ahmad. In the 25th over, Noor Ahmad took his second wicket while removing the inform Muhammad Rizwan on 8 when the total reached 120. Meanwhile, Babar also completed his half-century. However, after a few overs, Muhammad Nabi removed Saud Shakil on 25. At the stage, Pakistan were 163 for 4 in 34 overs.
Saud was replaced by Shadab who along with Babar, accelerated the inning. But in the 42nd over, Noor Ahmad removed Babar Azam when on 74 the total reached 206. Babar innings included 1 six and four boundaries. Babar was replaced by Iftikhar, who, along with Shadab, knocked some good strokes to further accelerate the inning.
Shadab and Iftikhar managed to push the run rate over 5 and then further improved it while smashing some fine sixes and fours in the last 5 overs. Shadab scored 40, while Iftikhar also added 40 runs to the total after he was removed by Naveen in the final over. Iftikhar inning included 4 sixes and 2 boundaries. Pakistan scored 282 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in 50 overs.
From Afghanistan, Noor Ahmad was the most successful bowler, taking 3 wickets while conceding 49 runs in his 10-over spill. Naveen got two wickets, while Azmat and Nabi took one wicket each.
Pakistan Squad
Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan †, Saud Shakeel, Shadab Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Usama Mir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali and Haris Rauf
Afghanistan Squad
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil †, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, and Noor Ahmad
