CWC23 Match 22:Afghanistan scripts history, register first win over Pakistan

Worm

Afghanistan bounced back hard after facing a thrashing defeat against New Zealand in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023. They defeated Pakistan by eight wickets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai in match 22 of the tournament.

Match Summary

Pakistan: 283-7 (50)

Fall of wickets: 1-56 (Imam-ul-Haq-10.1 ov), 2-110 (Abdullah Shafique-22.3 ov), 3-120 (Mohammad Rizwan-24.4 ov), 4-163 (Saud Shakeel-33.6 ov), 5-206 (Babar Azam-41.5 ov), 6-279 (Iftikhar Ahmed-49.2 ov), 7-282 (Shadab Khan-49.6 ov)

Afghanistan: 286-2 (49)

Fall of wickets: 1-130 (Rahmanullah Gurbaz-21.1 ov), 2-190 (Ibrahim Zadran-33.3 ov)

SCORECARD

Look, what this win means for us! ??

Incredible scenes in Chennai! ??#AfghanAtalan | #CWC23 | #AFGvPAK | #WarzaMaidanGata pic.twitter.com/G17vJ9gl5q

— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) October 23, 2023

Match Analysis

Pakistan, batting first, posted 282 for seven in their 50 overs, but Afghanistan chased the target in 49 overs to register their second win of the tournament.

Pakistan openers Abdullah Shafique (58:75b, 5x4, 2x6) and Imam-Ul-Haq (17:22b, 2x4) came out with intent and played their shots at the start. The duo added 56 runs for the opening stand and gave a great platform to the other batters. Skipper Babar Azam (74:92b, 4x4, 1x6) returned to form and batted well in the middle phase despite low scores from Mohammed Rizwan and Saud Shakeel (25:34b, 3x4). In the end, Shadab Khan (40:38b, 1x4, 1x6) and Iftikhar Ahmed (40:27b, 2x4, 4x6) added 73 runs for the sixth wicket that powered Pakistan to 282 for seven. For Afghanistan, Noor Ahmad was the pick of the bowlers with his figures of three for 49.

Afghanistan was off to a dream start with the bat as Rahmanullah Gurbaz (65:53b, 9x4, 1x6) and Ibrahim Zadran (87:113b, 10x4) played maturely and scored runs in bulk. The duo added 130 runs for the opening partnership that put Pakistan under immense pressure. Rahmat Shah (77 not out: 84b, 5x4, 2x6) and Hashmatullah Shahidi (48 not out: 45b, 4x4) continued from where the openers left. Despite some tight bowling by Pakistan players, they held their nerves and took the game deep. Their staggering unbeaten 99-run partnership saw Afghanistan going past the finishing line with eight wickets in hand.

PAKISTAN - Abdullah Shafique, Imam ul Haq, Babar Azam(C), Mohammad Rizwan(WK), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf

AFGHANISTAN - Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi(C), Rahmat Shah, Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil(WK), Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Noor Ahmad

Match Details

Date - 2023-10-23 08:30:00

Venue - MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

Toss - Pakistan elected to bat

Umpires - Paul Reiffel(Australia), Rod Tucker(Australia), Chris Gaffaney(New Zealand TV)