Afghanistan are turning out to be giant-killers in this World Cup.
After springing a surprise against England in Delhi, where they crushed the defending champions by 69 runs, the Afghans defeated Pakistan by eight wickets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Monday.
It certainly was a historic moment for Afghanistan not just because this was their maiden ODI victory over Pakistan, but also because it’s the very first time that they have won two matches in a 50-over World Cup.
Young Noor Ahmad (3/49), making his debut in the ODI World Cup, was among the architects of this fantastic win alongside Rahmanullah Gurbaz (65), his opening partner Ibrahim Zadran (87) and Rahmat Shah (unbeaten on 77).
And for sure this win should broaden the smiles on the faces of the people back home, who were hit by earthquakes recently.
“I’m feeling glad for myself and for my country, and I want to dedicate this win to the people back home,” Man-of-the-Match Zadran said. “We’ll try our best to play positive cricket and do a lot for our country,” stated captain Hashmatullah Shahidi.
On a pitch that does have something in it for the spinners, left-armer Noor finished with the best figures while his senior colleague Rashid Khan conceded only 41 off his 10 overs that helped Afghanistan restrict Pakistan to 282/7 after Babar Azam won the toss and opted to bat.
What stood out thereafter was the composure and maturity that each of the Afghan batters showed to eventually take their team home with an over to spare.
From hereon, Afghanistan can, of course, start thinking of achieving something even bigger in this World Cup.
But what about Pakistan? They do lack a quality spinner, but their effort with both the bat and the ball was well below par.
Well-set batsmen, including Babar (74), threw their wickets away with loose strokes. And with the ball, almost each and every one of them seemed toothless as the Afghan batters looked to be under no pressure at all.
Losing three games on the trot, the semi-final hopes are gradually fading for Pakistan.
