On October 23, in the ICC World Cup 2023 held in Chennai, Afghanistan created history by defeating arch-rivals Pakistan with a convincing eight-wicket victory.
Pakistan’s innings started strongly with Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique, who put on a 56-run partnership for the opening wicket after winning the toss and choosing to bat. However, Azmatullah Omarzai claimed the first wicket by dismissing Imam for 12 runs. The duo of Babar Azam and Shafique continued to build the innings, amassing 104 runs together before Noor Ahmad’s crucial breakthrough, sending Shafique back for 58 runs. Noor struck again, removing Mohammad Rizwan for 8, and Mohammad Nabi added to Pakistan’s woes by dismissing Saud Shakeel for 25. Babar Azam’s resistance ended at 74 runs.
Afghanistan’s second-innings journey began on a strong note with openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran in commanding form. However, their promising partnership abruptly ended in the 22nd over when Shaheen Shah Afridi dismissed Gurbaz for an impressive 65 runs from 53 balls. Rahmat Shah stepped in as Gurbaz’s replacement and steadily built a new alliance with Zadran. Ibrahim Zadran narrowly missed reaching a century, amassing 87 runs from 113 balls before Hasan Ali claimed his wicket. Rahmat Shah contributed with a well-earned half-century, and with the unbeaten partnership of Hashtamullah Shahidi (48 not out) and Rahmat Shah (77 not out), Afghanistan successfully chased down Pakistan’s target of 283 runs with six balls to spare in ODI 22 of the 2023 World Cup.
Check out the reactions to Afganistan’s clinical win over Pakistan here:
Last Updated on October 23, 2023
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