Cricket Highlights, 24 Oct: ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 (Match 22) – Afghanistan made history by defeating Pakistan.

Pakistan vs Afghanistan (Match 22) – Highlights

Afghanistan has not been able to defeat Pakistan even once in ODI cricket after facing each other 7 times in the past. Afghans made history on Monday (October 23) taking the field with such statistics. Hashmatullah Shahidi’s team defeated Pakistan for the first time on the World Cup stage yesterday.

Afghanistan bested Pakistan by 8 wickets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Chasing the target of 283 runs given by Pakistan, the Afghans reached the port of victory with 1 over to spare.

With this victory, the Afghans kept their hopes of the semi-finals well alive. Afghans are now sixth in the table with 4 points playing five matches. Pakistan is fifth in the points table with equal points from an even number of matches. However, after losing three consecutive matches, Babar Azam’s team has fallen far behind in the semi-final race.

Pakistan set Afghanistan a target of 283 runs on the spin wicket of Chennai. Babar Azam’s team went to the dressing room with a certain feeling of being ahead at the innings break. But the 1992 champions were in danger when they went down to bowl.

Chasing a big target, two Afghan openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran surprised the fans at the beginning. They did not care about Pakistan’s world-class pace of attack. Shaheen Afridi-Haris Rauf and pacers like them have been mocked.

Both Gurbaz and Ibrahim have seen half-centuries in the century partnership. Gurbaz was sent back by Shaheen Afridi to score 65 runs. However, Ibrahim and Rahmat Shah did not let the pressure grow. They made a pair of 60 runs for the second wicket.

Pakistan tried to make a comeback to the match when Hasan Ali was sent back Ibrahim for 87 runs. But the Afghans did not give them the opportunity. Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah left the field after securing the team’s victory making a partnership of 96 runs. Rahmat was unbeaten with 77 runs off 84 balls hitting 2 sixes and 5 fours. Captain Hashmatullah finished the match just 2 runs away from fifty.

Earlier, Pakistan made a great start by winning the toss and batting first. The two openers Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique scored 56 runs in the powerplay without losing any wicket. After the powerplay, Azmatullah Omarzai struck the Pakistan camp first by returning Imam. He was returned to the dressing room after scoring only 17 runs off 22 balls.

Babar made a partnership of 54 runs with Abdullah Shafique for the second wicket. Noor Ahmad broke the pair by getting rid of Shafique. Shafique scored 58 runs off 75 balls. Noor quickly showed Rizwan (8) the way to the pavilion. Despite getting a good start, Saud Shakeel got back for 25 runs after falling victim to Mohammad Nabi.

Babar played a responsible innings with Shadab Khan. After scoring 74 runs off 92 balls, he finally made his way back with a catch off Noor’s ball. In the end, Iftikhar Ahmed played a stormy innings. Pakistan crossed 280 runs with his 27-ball 40-run innings. Shadab got out in the last ball after scoring 40 runs off 38 balls. As a result, Pakistan’s innings stopped at 282 runs.

Noor Ahmed took the maximum number of 3 wickets for Afghanistan. Apart from this, Naveen-ul-Haq took 2 wickets, and Mohammad Nabi and Azmatullah Omarzai picked up 1 wicket each to contribute to their historic triumph. Moreover, Ibrahim Zadran was selected as the player of the match after playing a great innings of 87 runs.

Pakistan vs Afghanistan Scoreboard

Pakistan – 282/7 (50.0)

Afghanistan – 286/2 (49.0)

Result – Afghanistan won by 8 wickets

Player of the match – Ibrahim Zadran

Ibrahim Zadran

Pakistan vs Afghanistan Playing XIs