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Wow! That was quite something. This World Cup might not have thrown up too many thrillers, but it certainly continues to unfold in dramatic fashion in terms of the results. And the games continue to come thick and fast - South Africa and Bangladesh square off in Mumbai tomorrow with one team looking to consolidate it's position in the top half of the table and the other desperate for an upswing in fortune. How will that contest unfold? Join us for our coverage of the same right here on Sportskeeda while keeping yourselves updated with further cricketing news and action from around the world on this very platform. For the moment though, this is the duo of Pradeep Somashekar and Sooryanarayanan Sesha taking your leave. Thank you so much for being a part of our coverage as we hope you enjoyed it. See you again tomorrow - good night and take care!
A moment that none of the fans who turned up at Chepauk will forget. A historic moment that none of Afghanistan's fans will forget. To put into perspective the impact they've had on the World Cup, Afghanistan are now level on points with Australia and Pakistan, while boasting more than that of defending champions England. How about that for a statement eh?
The win aside, it's the manner in which they've clinically achieved this result will please them to bits. It was a professional bowling and fielding display that they turned in against England and now, they've translated that into a superb display with the bat. Those who are yet to face them will certainly be wary alright. This team is something special.
As for Pakistan, it's a third loss on the bounce. Where do they go from here? Well, from a literal standpoint, nowhere, because they remain in Chennai with the Proteas coming over on Friday (October 27). But this loss could have large-scale ramifications on their campaign. Their bowling unit continues to look listless, their fielding continues to be a worry and Babar Azam looks lost for ideas. The losses to India and Australia were tough but this will be one bitter pill for them to swallow.
And now, the man of the moment - Hashmatullah Shahidi (Afghanistan captain): 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. To beat England and then Pakistan, hopefully we'll keep playing well. The bowling was also good, especially the spin department. We gave a chance to Noor and trusted his talent. Gurbaz and Ibrahim, the way they started, gave us the confidence. The game was in our hand from the beginning till the end. The last partnership between Rahmat and me was awesome.
Babar Azam (Pakistan captain): This loss hurts us against a side like Afghanistan, we got the good total on board but we were not up to the mark with the ball. We were not up to the mark on the field as well, in a big tournament like this, you got to up there in all departments, we needed to stop boundaries and conceded a lot of runs on the field, the way their openers were batting, we needed to strike, we didn't strike at the right times. All credit to Afghanistan the way they played, at the moment we were not playing good cricket, we have to try better in the next game, try and take good things from this game and move on. We didn't hit the right lengths, especially in the middle overs and we conceded boundary every over.
Ibrahim Zadran is the Player of the Match! Here's what he has to say: Thanks to almighty, I wanted to do with positive intent and positive mind and it worked out well for me. Many times we've played great partnerships, not only today and we have a good communication in the middle, if it was not a good start, Pakistan would've given us tough times but Gurbaz gave good support at the other end, we got a good momentum in the run chase. In this kind of event, it's a big thing for me, feeling great and I want to dedicate this award to the people back at home.
Match Summary: Afghanistan beat Pakistan by 8 wickets.
Ibrahim Zadran 87 (113) | Noor Ahmad 3/49 (10) Babar Azam 74 (92) | Hasan Ali 1/44 (10)
These are scenes. Absolute scenes. To the extent you'd think they've just won the World Cup. The Afghan team takes off on a lap of honor to appreciate the crowd and their support. They've certainly got their money's worth for what has been a fabulous contest. Arguably the best game of the tournament and they've also managed to witness a historic moment that will be spoken about for a long, long time.
It was expected to be a slow pitch. It wasn't a belter but the fact that Pakistan posted 282 was a clear sign of the pitch playing a lot better than expected. Afghanistan were determined despite the fact that they had a lot of runs to get and the way Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz came out playing their shots while running hard between the wickets was indicative of an opening combination that wasn't there to just go through the motions. The ball didn't swing much and the Pakistani seamers were guilty of offering too much width which was duly cashed in upon. Add some woeful fielding to go with it and Pakistan were certainly feeling the heat (no pun intended).
The runs kept coming, Pakistan continued to slack on the field and despite Usama Mir extracting some turn, he struggled for control with Shadab Khan also not faring any better. To top it all, Babar Azam's tactics were incredibly bemusing with his bowling changes in the second half of the defense defying a lot of conventional wisdom as he chose to feed spin as opposed to killing the game with his quicks.
Gurbaz blazed away to another brisk half-century and while Ibrahim was more sedate, he was rock solid himself. Gurbaz's wicket did slow things down but Rahmat Shah picked out the fence on a regular basis before rotating strike well. The humidity got to both Ibrahim and Rahmat at different stages as they struggled with cramps but at no point were Afghanistan on the back foot. Ibrahim's wicket did throw a spanner into their works especially as skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi took his time to get his eye on as the asking rate exceeded a run-a-ball. He knew that he had to go for it though and went for his shots now and then to release the pressure.
While Hasan Ali bowled an outstanding second spell, he wasn't backed up by the others. The bowling changes were remained bizarre while the field placement was incredibly defensive, allowing Rahmat and Shahidi to run the ones and twos. The fielding didn't take a turn for the better and the writing was on the wall. That's how it unfolded in the end too as Afghanistan remained composed with the duo doing it in truly clinical and professional fashion to ensure no way back for Pakistan. In front of a buzzing crowd at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Afghanistan scripted another fairytale win to etch themselves into eternal folklore. Have they lit up this World Cup? Oh you bet they have!
History scripted in Chennai! A seven-match losing streak against Pakistan in ODIs has been snapped. One of the Afghan supporters does a Sourav Ganguly from Lord's in 2002. A moment for the ages and a game that Afghanistan will never forget as they script themselves into further folklore. Afghanistan beat Pakistan by 8 wickets and script another upset at the 2023 World Cup! David overpowers Goliath - again!
49
overs
286/2score
0
0
1
1
1
4
runs
Hashmatullah Shahidi*
48(45)
Rahmat Shah
77(84)
Shaheen Afridi
1/58
48.6 Shaheen Afridi to Hashmatullah Shahidi, FOUR! AFGHANISTAN TAKE DOWN PAKISTAN! Afghanistan script history, they beat Pakistan for the first time in a World Cup, historic moment this and the crowd erupts in Chepauk. Plenty to ponder for Pakistan, they thought they had enough on the board but they don't at the end. Full toss on the leg-stump, Shahidi whacked it over backward square-leg, runs away and seals the deal for Afghans!
The scores are level and the Afghan supporters are ready to roar...
Video
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B Azam
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Hashmatullah Shahidi
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Shaheen Afridi
MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
