Afghanistan caused the biggest upset of the ODI World Cup 2023 on Monday. Hasmatullah Shahidi led the team to beat the Pakistani side led by Babar Azam by eight wickets. This was Pakistan’s third successive loss in the ODI World Cup 2023 tournament.
Before coming into this game Pakistan had begun with wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka. This was followed by the losses to India and Australia in their last two games. Babar Azam and his team needed a win on Monday to get back into the top four of the points table.
Afghanistan had come into the game on the back of a huge loss to New Zealand. Shahidi and his men had beaten England earlier in the tournament by 69 runs. This win was Afghanistan’s second win in their World Cup history over a test-playing side.
Afghanistan hammers Pakistan by eight wickets to record historic win –
Chasing 283 runs to win, Afghanistan openers started well by adding 130 runs for the opening wicket. Rahmanullah Gurbaz began the assault with 65 runs off just 53 balls with 9 fours and a six. Shaheen Afridi then got Gurbaz with a short ball which was well caught by Usama Mir.
Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah then joined forces as the pair did not take the pressure away. The two batters added 60 runs at a steady rate to get the Afghanistan team closer. Against the run of play, Zadran was out for 87 when he was caught by Rizwan off Hasan Ali.
Rahmat Shah though kept going along with skipper Hasmatullah Shahidi as the pair added unbeaten 96 runs for the 3rd wicket. Shah was not out on 77 runs from 86 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes. Shahidi was not out on 48 runs as he hit the winning run to take his team to a famous win in the ODI World Cup 2023.
Earlier batting first Pakistan scored 282/7 from their allotted 50 overs. Babar Azam top scored with 74 from 92 balls. This was the second fifty of the ODI World Cup for the Pakistan skipper. Abdullah Shaifque gave the men in green a good start by scoring 58 runs. The finish was provided by Shadab Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed who scored 40 runs apiece.
Here’s how the fans reacted
AFGHANISTAN DEFEATED PAKISTAN IN CHENNAI….!!! ?? pic.twitter.com/lT7BgOvwxq
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 23, 2023
Kaheka best bowling lineup?
Afghanistan chased this mammoth target without any difficultyThis win surely gonna boost Afghanisthan's confidence
— Yash Jadhav (@farzi_rtist) October 23, 2023
NO ZIMBABWE NO NEPAL NO PARTY ????
— Dennis? (@DenissForReal) October 23, 2023
Kudrat Ka Nizam.
— Naveen (@_naveenish) October 23, 2023
Pakistan in every match : pic.twitter.com/Rqu43fi2sk
— ????? (@rahulpassi) October 23, 2023
We don't deserve to play this World Cup anymore. Pakistan team should pack their bags and return to avoid more humiliation. I don't know what kind of drug they use before start fielding. I believe Netherlands is a far better team compared to Pakistan.
— Hamza Tariq (@_HamzaPro) October 23, 2023
Don't say anything, let's just laugh at PAKISTAN ?????????????????????????
— Anuj (@AnujDeswal013) October 23, 2023
Let's all Laugh on Pakistan #PAKvsAFG pic.twitter.com/vJb7ulryFr
— Radhika Chaudhary (@Radhika8057) October 23, 2023
