This was Afghanistan’s second upset win of the tournament after their shock victory over defending champions England
Chennai: A spirited Afghanistan team continued its giant-killing spree to literally push Pakistan to the brink of elimination with a eight-wicket victory in a World Cup game on Monday, Oct 23, a PTI report in The Tribune, Chandigarh, says.
On a challenging Chepauk track, a target of 283 was not the easiest of targets to chase, but Kolkata Knight Riders’ Rahmanullah Gurbaz (65 off 53 balls) teed off in style while his partner Ibrahim Zadran (87 off 113 balls) dropped anchor at the other end in an opening stand of 130 which laid the perfect platform for victory.
While experience is worth its weight in gold in these kind of games, Afghanistan did well enough to chase down the target in 49 overs, exposing the frailties of Pakistan bowling unit.
This is Afghanistan’s second win after beating defending champions England in New Delhi and with four points are now placed at sixth position.
Pakistan, for the present, will remain on fifth place but after a hat-trick of defeats, another loss against South Africa later this week, will in all likelihood shut the knock-out doors for the 1992 champions.
Seasoned Rahmat Shah (77 not out off 84 balls), whose straight six down the ground off Hasan Ali was a visual treat, showed admirable situational awareness even as Pakistan bowlers did put pressure on him during the second phase of the chase. He repeated the same shot off the same bowler to put Afghanistan within sniffing distance of victory.
He got good support from skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi (48 not out, 45 balls), who reverse swept an off-colour Shadab Khan against the turn during crucial juncture which spoke volumes about his temperament.
The duo added 96 runs for the third wicket in some of the most difficult batting conditions. The sense of happiness and elation after hitting the winning boundary was there for everyone to see.
The 21,000 odd sporting crowd at Chepauk also gave the team a nice standing ovation.
The match that was played on the same track as the India versus Australia game had both grip and turn on offer but 282 for 7 by Pakistan was by no means a poor effort if one takes quality spin bowling unit that Afghanistan possesses. If spin is Afghanistan’s strength, it is certainly Pakistan’s biggest weakness
In Indian domestic cricket, there are better wrist spinners than these two and one of the best in the world, Yuzvendra Chahal hasn’t got a look-in in this Indian team.
When Afghanistan started the chase, Gurbaz, who hit nine fours and a six, wasn’t overawed by Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan or Haris Rauf.
Strong on the off-side, Gurbaz repeatedly peppered the point and backward point region as Pakistani bowlers bowled short and wide outside the off-stump.
In one Rauf over, eighth of the innings, Gurbaz got four boundaries and save the last one, which was a streaky inside edge, three were cuts or slashes through point region.
Pakistan’s fielding was rubbish to say the least as most fielders tried putting blame on others in full public view, including skipper Babar Azam, who lost his cool after failing to stop overthrows.
Earlier Babar struck a composed half-century before useful cameos by lower-order batsmen steered Pakistan to a reasonably good total if one takes the track into account.
Opener Abdullah Shafique made 58 off 75 balls and Babar got 74 off 92 balls, but had it not been for the efforts of Iftikhar Ahmed and the returning Shadab Khan, Pakistan would have finished with far less than what they eventually achieved.
Also, spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman was expensive in the first 10 overs of the powerplay. The first delivery of the second powerplay saw the Afghans earn the first breakthrough, with Imam falling to speedster Azmatullah Omarzai off a short ball.
Brief Scores:
Pakistan: 282 for 7 in 50 overs (Babar Azam 74, Abdullah Shafique 58; Noor Ahmad 3/49, Naveen-ul-Haq 2/52).
Afghanistan: 286 for 2 in 49 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 87, Rahmanullah Gurbaz 65, Rahmat Shah 77 not out; Hasan Ali 1/44).
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