In another big upset of the World Cup, Afghanistan defeated
Pakistan. During the match being played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in
Chennai, opener Abdullah Shafiq also hit Pakistan’s first six in the ODI
Powerplay this year for which the national team played 1169 balls. Opener
Imam-ul-Haq was dismissed after playing 17 runs.
A partnership of 54 runs was also established between Babar
and Abdullah Shafiq, Abdullah Shafiq also completed his half-century by facing
60 balls with the help of two sixes and 4 fours, Abdullah returned to the
pavilion after scoring 58 runs. Muhammad Rizwan, who came in fourth place,
returned to the pavilion after scoring 8 runs. Saud Shakeel was dismissed for
25 runs, Captain Babar Azam also completed a half-century but he also returned
to the pavilion after scoring 74 runs off 92 balls.
Saud Shakeel got out after scoring 25 runs. In the final
overs, Iftikhar Ahmed and Shadab Khan batted responsibly, Iftikhar scored 40
runs off 27 balls and Shadab scored 40 runs off 38 balls. Shaheen Afridi
remained unbeaten on 3 runs. Pakistan scored 282 runs for the loss of 7 wickets
in 50 overs. On behalf of Afghanistan, young spinner Noor Ahmed took 3 wickets,
fast bowler Naveen ul Haq took 2 wickets.
Apart from this, Muhammad Nabi and Azmatullah got one
wicket each. Chasing Pakistan’s 283 runs, Afghan openers Rahmanullah Garbaz and
Ibrahim Zadran started the innings aggressively. The first wicket of the Afghan
team fell on 130 runs when Rahmanullah Garbaz returned to the pavilion after
scoring 65 runs off the ball of Shaheen Afridi. After playing a brilliant
innings of 87 runs on a total score of 190, Ibrahim Zadran fell victim to Hasan
Ali.
Afghanistan easily achieved Pakistan’s target of 283 runs
in 49 overs for the loss of 2 wickets. It is Afghanistan’s first victory
against Pakistan in the One Day International, while the Afghan team has done
the second upset in the current World Cup. Earlier, Afghanistan had pulled off
a major upset by defeating defending champions England. The national team has
included all-rounder Shadab Khan in place of Mohammad Nawaz in the playing XI,
while Afghanistan has included spinner Noor Ahmed in place of Fazlul Haq
Farooqui.
