Teenager Noor Ahmad (3-39) wowed Afghanistan with his spin at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, while Pakistan’s bowlers struggled to rise to the occasion. Our next rundown will give you an upper hand before you head straight to the top cricket betting sites to make your bets!
In Chennai, Afghanistan beat Pakistan by eight wickets, making history in one-day internationals. In response to Pakistan’s 282-7, the opening stand between Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz was an astounding 130 runs off 128 balls.
Quick Recap: Pakistan vs Afghanistan
Despite Pakistan’s best efforts, the openers were dismissed in the 22nd and 34th overs, respectively, but Hashmat Shahidi and Rahmat Shah put on 96 runs, with the latter hitting a boundary off the penultimate ball, to help Afghanistan reach 286-2 and secure a historic victory.
Afghanistan used four spinners, with 18-year-old Noor Ahmad (3-39) replacing Fazalhaq Farooqi and making an immediate impact by claiming the crucial wickets of Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam and middle-order batsman Muhammad Rizwan. Earlier in the competition, Afghanistan defeated England by a score of 69 runs, marking the first time in World Cup history that a team has won two games.
Suffering from Consecutive Defeats
After winning the toss and deciding to bat, Pakistan’s openers Imam ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique put on a stand of 56 runs in the powerplay. Imam misplayed a short delivery from all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai (1-50), which was taken by Naveen-ul-Haq at midwicket.
With the captain scoring his 30th half-century in ODI cricket, Shafique and Babar added 54 more runs to Pakistan’s total while looking in imperious form.
The defending champions Pakistan were reduced to 120-3 as Afghanistan brought in left-arm wrist spinner Noor, who trapped Shafique lbw on review and then took the wicket of Pakistan’s strong hitter Rizwan, who swiped a wide delivery to short fine leg.
Iftikhar Ahmed and Shadab Khan gave Pakistani fans reason to be optimistic by contributing 73 runs, with Ahmed smashing a pair of boundaries and four sixes. However, they were both dismissed in the penultimate over by fast bowler Naveen-ul-Haq (2-52).
While Naveen had Shadab caught by Mohammad Nabi at long-on off a slower ball, Iftikhar’s remarkable cameo ended when he launched a length ball but failed to get sufficient length on it and ended up caught at deep extra cover.
Another World Cup Upset by Afghanistan
Gurbaz established the stage for the chase with a tuck into the leg side in the first over, and Zadran followed suit by driving Pakistan’s pace bowler across the covers for four.
As the Afghanistan opener hit his fifth ODI half-century and his team reached 130-0 by the 21st over, Haris Rauf was blasted for four boundaries in his opening spell of the day, all of which came from Gurbaz.
After Afghanistan had made great headway in their run chase, Afridi finally broke the partnership with a short ball that was whacked to Usama Mir at deep third. When Afghanistan just needed 30 runs off 30 balls in the 45th over with eight wickets in hand, a historic triumph appeared plausible.
At the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Afghanistan fans had already begun rejoicing in the victory by the time Hashmat hit Afridi for four to seal the historic win in the final over.
Player of the Match: Ibrahim Zadran
The match was won thanks to a brilliant 87 from the Afghani opener off 113 balls. Together with Gurbaz, he built the chase-inspired platform. The opening 20 overs of the innings essentially decided the game. His opening stand of 130 runs with Rahmanullah Gurbaz effectively ended Pakistan’s chances early on.
With 48 runs scored off 45 balls, captain Hasmatullah Shahidi also made a significant contribution. After receiving the Player of the Match award, Zadran thought of the Afghans who had to leave Pakistan. A brilliant performance by the top four hitters and an excellent three-wicket haul from Noor Ahmed helped Afghanistan beat Pakistan for the first time in ODIs, making history in the process.
Score: Pakistan v Afghanistan
| Pakistan | 282/7 | 50.0 overs |
| Afghanistan | 286/2 | 49.0 overs |
| Afghanistan won by 8 wickets | ||
The eight-wicket win over 1992 winners Pakistan was Afghanistan’s second upset of a powerhouse in the ongoing 50-over World Cup. The result put the defending champions, England, to the bottom of the points table and was Afghanistan’s first ODI success against Pakistan in eight tries.On Tuesday, October 24 in Mumbai, South Africa will play Bangladesh next. Get ready to hop straight to the top cricket betting sites to continue supporting your favorite cricket teams!