Afghanistan seal huge 8-wicket win over Pakistan to make another upset

Following the victory against champions England, Afghanistan made another upset in the 2023 World Cup by defeating mighty Pakistan by eight wickets in Chennai.

Afghanistan easily chased down the challenging total of 282 runs with six balls remaining in the 22nd game of the tournament at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Monday.

Earlier, the Afghans stun defending champions England with a 69-run victory and made the biggest upset in the world contest at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on October 15.

In reply to 282, two openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran made the platform for Afghanistan to chase it down easily.

They had made a 130-run opening stand between them before Gurbaz and Ibrahim departed for 65 and 87 respectively.

Later, Rahmat Shah (77) and skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi (48) finished the game with a remarkable victory carrying a 96-run unbeaten stand between them.

Only two Pakistani bowlers were successful as Shaheen Afridi and Hasan Ali took one wicket each.

Earlier, Pakistan posted a respectable total of 282 runs collecting 61 runs in the last five overs by means of lower-middle order.

Opting to bat, Pakistan got a solid start with a 56-run stand by openers Abdullah Shafique (58) and Imam-ul-Haq (17). Then skipper Babar Azam (74) came in and provided another 50-pus partnership with Shafique.

Pakistan at a time was 110/1 after 22.2 overs which was quite a comfortable situation but they lost momentum offering three wickets in 53 runs and fell under pressure. Left-handed Saud Shakeel added 25 in the middle.

Later, Shadab Khan (40 from 38) and Iftikhar Ahmed (40 from 27) played cameos at the end to take Pakistan to the respectable 282.

Noor Ahmed was the pick of the Afghan bowlers taking three wickets while Naveen-ul-Haq got two.

Both sides made one change each in their playing XI as Shadab Khan replaced Mohammad Nawaz, who has a fever. Afghanistan, on the other hand, banked upon spin and added an extra spinner as Noor Ahmad came in for Fazalhaq Farooqi.

Playing XIs

Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(w), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf.

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil(w), Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Noor Ahmad.