[Watch] Irfan Pathan dances with Rashid Khan after Afghanistan's victory against Pakistan in 2023 World Cup
Former Indian player Irfan Pathan celebrated with Rashid Khan after Afghanistan registered a memorable win against Pakistan in the 2023 World Cup match on Monday (October 23).
It was Afghanistan's first-ever victory over Pakistan in ODIs. The Afghanistan team have fallen marginally short on numerous occasions over the past few years but finally found a way to get over the line at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
As soon as captain Hashmatullah Shahidi hit the winning runs, celebrations broke out in the Afghanistan camp. All the players and support staff members were elated after the historic win. The Chennai crowd applauded the Afghanistan team by giving a standing ovation, and the players took a lap of honor, thanking the fans for their support.
Irfan Pathan, who was with the broadcast team on the ground, met Afghan spinner Rashid Khan during the lap of honor, and both celebrated by dancing enthusiastically before embracing.
You can watch the duo's dance in the below video:
Afghanistan's top 3 batters hit half-centuries to complete a clinical chase against Pakistan
Pakistan captain Babar Azam won the toss and opted to bat first in the contest. He led the way for his side with a 74-run knock off 92 balls. Abdullah Shafique (58), Shadab Khan (40), and Iftikhar Ahmed (40) lent him support in the batting order to help Pakistan set a decent target of 283 for their opponents.
Afghan openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (65) and Ibrahim Zadran (87) then took advantage of some loose bowling and lousy fielding from Pakistan to stitch a 130-run partnership for the first wicket.
After their departure, Rahmat Shah (77*) anchored the chase perfectly and remained unbeaten at the crease. Hashmatullah Shahidi (48*) also played a sensible knock to finish the chase in 49 overs. Reflecting on the win at the post-match presentation, Shahidi said:
"This win tastes nice and the way we chased was very professional. Looking forward to the other games. The way we chased today, we will go again in the other games. The quality cricket we were playing from the last couple of years, the belief was there in the Asia Cup also. At the start of the tournament I said that we want to make this tournament special for our people back home."