Afghanistan defeated Pakistan for the first time in a One Day International
PAK vs AFG– Afghanistan has secured its first victory against Pakistan in a One Day International (ODI). The team has turned the tables in the 2023 World Cup, defeating Pakistan by 8 wickets. Afghanistan has also defeated the defending champions, England before in the tournament.
In a match at Chepauk Stadium in Chennai, Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat. The team scored 282 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in their allotted 50 overs, with Noor Ahmed taking 3 wickets.
Afghanistan achieved the target in the 49th over, losing 2 wickets. Ibrahim Zadran scored 87 runs and shared a 130-run opening partnership with Rahmanullah Gurbaz. After Zadran’s wicket fell at 190 runs, Rahmat Shah partnered with captain Hashmatullah Shahidi to steer the team to victory with 96 runs.
For the scrapbooks 😍#CWC23 #PAKvAFG pic.twitter.com/gOSr72VOgJ
— ICC (@ICC) October 23, 2023
Pak vs Afg– Pakistan Won The Toss, Elected To Bat First
The Imam-Shafiq pair provided Pakistan with a strong start. The openers faced the new ball confidently against the fast bowler Navin-ul-Haq and spinner Mujeeb-ur-Rahman. Shafiq and Imam played grounded shots in the initial four overs, maintaining their balance.
After assessing the pitch conditions, the Pakistani openers began to attack. Both of them took advantage of Navin-ul-Haq’s 11-run over in the fifth over, while they managed to accumulate 12 runs off Mujeeb’s deliveries in the sixth over. Mujeeb also gave away 12 runs in the eighth over.
The Pakistani batsmen struggled against the spin. In the ninth and tenth overs, the pace bowler Ajmatullah Omarzai and spinner Mohammad Nabi were introduced. This slowed down the run rate. Pakistan scored 56 runs without losing a wicket during the powerplay.
After a fantastic start in the powerplay, Afghan spinners delivered a brilliant performance. Noor Ahmed and Rashid Khan kept the Pakistani batsmen in check, preventing them from crossing the 200-run mark. As a result, the Pakistani batsmen struggled, managing only 135 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in the middle 30 overs.
Rasid khan fulfilled his promise and I fulfilled mine. Well done guys @ICC @rashidkhan_19 pic.twitter.com/DKPU0jWBz9
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) October 23, 2023
Opener Abdullah Shafiq and captain Babar Azam completed their respective half-centuries, while opener Imam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Rizwan couldn’t put up impressive performances.
Pakistan had two crucial partnerships in the middle. Babar Azam partnered with Abdullah Shafiq for the second wicket, contributing 54 runs, and Saud Shakeel added 43 runs for the fourth wicket.
Pakistan scored 282 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in 50 overs. For the Pakistani team, opener Abdullah Shafiq scored 58 runs, and captain Babar Azam played a half-century, contributing 74 runs. Iftikhar Ahmed added 40 runs from 27 balls in the middle.
Saud Shakeel scored 25, and Shadab Khan added 32 runs in their respective partnerships.
Afghanistan Chase To Glory
Afghanistan’s opening pair made a fantastic start while chasing the 283-run target set by Pakistan. They scored 60 runs in the first 10 overs of the powerplay. The partnership of Zadran and Gurbaz initiated their innings aggressively.
In the first over, 10 runs were scored, followed by 8 runs in the second over. In the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth overs, they added a total of 16 runs.
In the sixth over, the umpire initially gave Zadran out, but he was saved by the Decision Review System (DRS). After this, in the 8th over, Zadran and Gurbaz combined to score 17 runs off Harris Rauf’s over.
They hit four boundaries during that over. Additionally, there were some fielding errors observed during this period.
Despite a strong start in the initial 10 overs, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran continued their composed batting. They formed a 130-run partnership, with Gurbaz scoring 65 runs before getting out.
Following Gurbaz’s dismissal, Ibrahim Zadran contributed 87 runs and established a 60-run partnership with Rahmat Shah. Following Gurbaz’s dismissal, Hasan Ali sent Ibrahim Zadran back to the pavilion.
After Zadran’s wicket, Rahmat Shah and captain Hashmatullah Shahidi ensured that no further wickets fell. They added an unbroken partnership of 96 runs and led the team to victory, losing only 2 wickets. Rahmat scored 77 runs, and Shahidi remained unbeaten with 48 runs.
After a superb start in the powerplay, opener Ibrahim Zadran formed a 130-ball opening partnership with Rahmanullah Gurbaz. This partnership was eventually broken by Shaheen Shah Afridi, who dismissed Gurbaz.
Pak vs Afg– Afghanistan Lifted To 6th Spot In Points Table, Pakistan Still Holds 5th
After the victory against Pakistan, Afghanistan has accumulated 4 points, placing them at the sixth position on the points table. Despite suffering their third loss in five matches, Pakistan is currently in fifth place.
However, their hopes of reaching the semi-finals have taken a hit. The team will now need to win their remaining four matches and rely on the performance of other teams to secure a spot in the semi-finals.
Certainly, here’s the points table for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 based on the information you provided:
ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 – Points Table After Pak vs Afg Match
| Team | Matches Played | Won | Lost | Tied | NR | Points | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | +1.353 |
| New Zealand | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | +1.481 |
| South Africa | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +2.212 |
| Australia | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -0.193 |
| Pakistan | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -0.400 |
| Afghanistan | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -0.969 |
| Bangladesh | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.784 |
| Netherlands | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.790 |
| Sri Lanka | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1.048 |
| England | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1.248 |
Hashmatullah Shahidi- This win tastes nice. The way we chased was very professional. Looking forward for the other games. The way we chased today, we’ll do it again.
We have been playing quality cricket, the belief was there when we played the Asia Cup as well. First was England, today Pakistan, looking forward to the other games. We’ll try to play positive cricket and do a lot for out country.
The spin bowling deprogramming was very good. Noor showed his talent. Gurbaz and Ibrahim gave the momentum and confidence. The game was in our hand from the beginning till the end.
Babar Azam- This hurts us. We had a good total. In the bowling, we weren’t up to the mark as we are not taking wickets in the middle overs. If you are not good in even one department, then you’ll lose the game.
We didn’t stop boundaries and gave away runs, that cost us. Bowling – we started well, in the middle overs, we needed wickets but we couldn’t take any. All credit to Afghanistan the way they played in all three departments.
That’s why they won. We are not playing good cricket in bowling and fielding. We’ll try our best in the next match. We didn’t hit the lengths in the middle overs, especially our spinners. We couldn’t put pressure on the batters.
Ibrahim Zadran, Player of the Match- I wanted to go out there with a positive mind and positive intent, and I did it. We have played a lot of cricket with each other, we have good communication while running between the wickets as we have been playing together since under-16 days.
The way Gurbaz supported me that helped me and we got the momentum in our favour. I am feeling great for myself and my country.