In a historic turn of events during the ongoing ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023, Afghanistan achieved their highest-ever run chase against Pakistan at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai on Monday, October 23. Afghan opener Ibrahim Zadran played a pivotal role, while Rahmanullah Gurbaz aggressively took on the Pakistan bowlers during the powerplay.
Gurbaz (65) and Zadran (87) combined for a remarkable 130-run partnership for the opening wicket, providing a blazing start for their team. Rahmat Shah and captain Hashmatullah Shahidi later sealed the victory for Afghanistan.
This exceptional performance led to severe criticism of the Pakistan team, who suffered their third consecutive loss in the tournament. After victories over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka, Pakistan faced defeats against India, Australia, and now Afghanistan.
Former India opener Gautam Gambhir expressed his dissatisfaction with the team led by Babar Azam during the World Cup and provided his expert analysis of the match.
Gambhir stated, “Afghanistan has played superior cricket compared to Pakistan in this World Cup. If Pakistan had defeated Afghanistan, it would have been considered an upset. I’m making this bold statement because if you examine Afghanistan’s performance in this tournament, they scored more runs against India’s formidable bowling attack and also defeated England.”
In further praise, Gambhir added, “Afghanistan made the run chase appear effortless. Even India might have struggled to complete the chase as comfortably as Afghanistan did against Pakistan. The batters played with composure and maintained control over the required run rate.”
This victory marked a historic moment for Afghanistan and their supporters, breaking a streak of seven ODI losses against Pakistan. In this game, all four batters executed their roles to perfection, achieving their highest run chase in the history of the 50-over format.
At present, Pakistan occupies the fifth position in the standings. However, with three consecutive losses, another defeat against South Africa this week could potentially close the doors to the knockout stages for Pakistan.
