Afghanistan produced a sensational performance to beat Pakistan by eight wickets in their ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Monday, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Chasing a challenging target of 283, Afghanistan reached 286 for two in 49 overs, with the brilliant knocks from openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (65) and Ibrahim Zadran (87), who shared a 131-run stand. Rahmat Shah (77 not out) and Hashmatullah Shahidi (48 not out) then completed the chase with six balls to spare.
Afghanistan, who stunned defending champions England earlier in the tournament, and Pakistan both now have two wins and three losses from their five group games.
Pakistan, on the other hand, suffered their third consecutive defeat in the mega event and slipped to sixth position in the points table with four points from five matches. They now face a must-win situation in their remaining four games to have any chance of making it to the semifinals.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam won the toss and opted to bat first, hoping to post a big total on a flat pitch. He led from the front with a fluent 74 off 92 balls, while Abdullah Shafique (58) and Iftikhar Ahmed (40) also chipped in with useful contributions. However, Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals and could not accelerate in the death overs. They finished with 282 for seven in 50 overs, which proved to be inadequate against a spirited Afghan side.
Afghanistan’s bowling was disciplined and effective, with off-spinner Noor Ahmad being the pick of the lot with three for 49 in 10 overs. He was well supported by pacers Naveen-ul-Haq (two for 52) and Mohammad Nabi (one for 31), who kept the pressure on the Pakistani batters.
Afghanistan’s chase got off to a flying start as Gurbaz and Zadran took on the Pakistani bowlers with aggression and confidence. They scored at more than six runs per over and did not allow any bowler to settle. Gurbaz was particularly impressive, hitting nine fours and a six in his 53-ball knock.
Pakistan got their first breakthrough when Shaheen Afridi dismissed Gurbaz in the 22nd over, but it was too little too late. Zadran continued his onslaught and completed another fifty. He added another 85 runs with Rahmat Shah for the second wicket before falling to Hasan Ali in the 38th over.
However, there was no respite for Pakistan as Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi batted sensibly and calmly to take Afghanistan home. Rahmat Shah hit five fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 84-ball innings, while Shahidi played a mature knock of 48 not out off 45 balls. They sealed the win with a boundary off Haris Rauf in the penultimate over.
Ibrahim Zadran was adjudged the player of the match for his match-winning knock of 87. He said that he was happy to contribute to his team’s victory and thanked his teammates and coaches for their support.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam admitted that his team did not play well and gave credit to Afghanistan for their performance. He said that his team needed to improve their batting, bowling and fielding in the upcoming matches and hoped to bounce back strongly.
Toss
Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat first. Captain Babar Azam informed that they had made one change to the team bringing in Shadab Khan in place of Muhammad Nawaz who has a fever.
Afghanistan also made a change in their squad, boosting their spin department by including Noor Ahmad in place of Farooqi.
TEAMS
Pakistan: 1 Abdullah Shafique, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Babar Azam (capt), 4 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 5 Saud Shakeel, 6 Iftikhar Ahmed, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Usama Mir, 9 Hasan Ali, 10 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 11 Haris Rauf
Afghanistan: 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), 5 Azmatullah Omarzai, 6 Ikram Alikhil (wk), 7 Mohammad Nabi, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 10 Naveen-ul-Haq, 11 Noor Ahmad
The odds are not easy if Pakistan wants to get its campaign back on track in the tournament as it will have to defeat Afghanistan on the Chepauk pitch. After losing to India and Australia in the last two matches, Pakistan will have to win this match at any cost to keep their hopes alive. Another defeat will be a huge blow to its chances of reaching the semi-finals.
Pakistan came into the game on the back of two successive losses in the tournament against India and Australia. Although a defeat would not knock Pakistan out of the tournament, it will make things difficult as they are yet to face multiple strong opponents.
With the euphoria of a historic win against England two games ago wearing off, Afghanistan will also look to get back on the winning track after a defeat against New Zealand in the last game.
A defeat for Afghanistan, who have lost three out of their four fixtures, will most likely sound an end to their campaign.
Conditions are expected to be hot and dry. Although not a high-scoring venue in this tournament, whoever wins the toss will likely to bat first.
Although no major changes are expected, Pakistan might have to make a decision on Usama Mir who had a rough outing in his debut match against Australia, bringing back Shadab Khkan.
Saeed Anwar's Chennai magic
Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq will channel the spirit of record-setting compatriot Saeed Anwar and his country's winning relationship with Chennai on Monday (today) in an effort to revive the team's World Cup campaign.
Pakistan tackle Afghanistan at the MA Chidambaram Stadium where in 1997, flamboyant left-handed opener Anwar hit a monumental 194 against India.
At the time it was the highest individual ODI score while Anwar's heroics also gave Pakistan a 35-run win over their arch-rivals.
Pakistan maintained their two-game undefeated run at the stadium with a six-wicket win over India in 2012.
"We have a great record at this venue, so I am sure that will be a motivation," said Haq, who was only two when Anwar blitzed the India team which featured the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid in 1997. "Although I don't have any memory of Saeed Anwar's record, that too will be a motivation."
"We have to admit we did not play well in those games," said Haq on Sunday. "We were not up to the mark, did not get the execution right and defeat always lowers morale."
Haq scored 36 against India in Ahmedabad but Pakistan collapsed from 155-2 to 191 all out, losing by seven wickets.
The 27-year-old then scored 70 against Australia in a daunting chase of a 368-run target in Bengaluru where Pakistan slipped to a 62-run defeat. "We dropped crucial catches and that hurt," said Haq.
Haq also played down the threat posed by Afghanistan's spin trio of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi at a venue renowned as a slow bowlers paradise.
"We know this ground favours spinners and they have quality spin bowlers but we have beaten them 3-0 recently in a one-day series in Sri Lanka under the same conditions," said Haq.
"We all know Afghanistan is a good team and in these conditions they will be tough but we are ready for that and will execute our plans."
What will happen on Chepauk?
The pitch of MA Chidambaram Stadium is considered quite balanced. This helps both the batsmen and the bowlers. The pitch is expected to remain dry and spinners can get a lot of help here. Here, as the match progresses, the wicket becomes a little slow and it becomes very difficult for the batsmen to hit shots. On this pitch, the team winning the toss prefers to bat first. In the last match played on this ground also, New Zealand had won the match against Afghanistan by batting first.
The biggest threat
Afghanistan’s spin department is very strong which includes spinners like Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeebur Rahman who are capable of troubling even the world’s leading batsmen. In such a situation, it will not be easy for Pakistan to face these bowlers on the pitch of Chepauk which is suitable for spinners. Pakistan currently has four points from four matches and is placed fifth in the points table. Its net run rate is -0.456 which needs improvement.
MA Chidambaram Stadium Statistics
So far 39 ODI matches have been played at MA Chidambaram Stadium. During this period, the team batting first has won 15 matches and the team batting later has won 20 matches. The average score while batting first on this ground is 235 runs. At the same time, the average score while batting later is 218 runs.
Squads
Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam ul Haq, Abdullah Shafiq, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Aga, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen. Afridi and Mohammad Wasim.
Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hasan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Azmatullah Umarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Noor Ahmed, Fazalhaq Farooqui. , Abdul Rehman and Naveen Ul Haq.
Key stats
As both teams prepare for the clash, let’s take a look at some of the key stats ahead of the game.
Current Form
Afghanistan: LWLLL
Pakistan: LLWWL
Chennai’s lucky charm for Pakistan
Did you know? Pakistan has only ever played two ODIs in Chennai, both against India. They won each time, in 1997 and 2012.
Head-to-Head ODI Record
Overall: 7
Pakistan wins: 7
Afghanistan wins: 0
Pakistan vs Afghanistan ODI History
10/02/2012: Sharjah - Pakistan won by 7 wickets
27/02/2014: Fatullah - Pakistan won by 72 runs
21/09/2018: Abu Dhabi - Pakistan won by 3 wickets
29/06/2019: Leeds - Pakistan won by 3 wickets
22/08/2023: Hambantota - Pakistan won by 142 runs
24/08/2023: Hambantota - Pakistan won by 1 wicket
26/08/2023: Colombo - Pakistan won by 59 runs
Mujeeb 3 Wickets Away From Milestone
Mujeeb Ur Rahman needs three wickets to become the fourth Afghanistan man to complete 100 wickets in ODI format.