Afghanistan stunned Pakistan by eight wickets in a historic victory at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on 23 October 2023. This was the Match 22 of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Here is the summary of the scorecard and the players' performance:
Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first. They scored 282 runs for seven wickets in 50 overs. The top scorer was Babar Azam, who made 89 runs off 98 balls with nine fours and one six. He was well supported by Fakhar Zaman, who scored 64 runs off 77 balls with seven fours and two sixes. The other notable contributions came from Mohammad Rizwan (36 off 39), Shadab Khan (32 off 25) and Hasan Ali (24 off 11).
Afghanistan's bowling was disciplined and effective. They took regular wickets and kept the run rate under control. The star bowler was Rashid Khan, who took three wickets for 48 runs in his 10 overs. He also bowled a maiden over and had an economy rate of 4.80. He was assisted by Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who took two wickets for 49 runs in his 10 overs. Naveen-ul-Haq and Gulbadin Naib also chipped in with one wicket each.
Afghanistan's batting was superb and they chased down the target with ease. They scored 286 runs for two wickets in 49 overs. The opening pair of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran gave them a solid start, adding 132 runs for the first wicket in 25.4 overs. Gurbaz scored 63 runs off 72 balls with eight fours and one six, while Zadran scored 87 runs off 113 balls with nine fours and two sixes.
After Gurbaz's dismissal, Hashmatullah Shahidi joined Zadran and they added another 101 runs for the second wicket in 18 overs. Shahidi scored 68 runs off 66 balls with five fours and one six. He remained unbeaten till the end, along with Najibullah Zadran, who scored a quickfire 37 runs off 21 balls with four fours and two sixes. They finished the match with seven balls to spare.
Pakistan's bowling was lackluster and they could not create any pressure on the Afghan batsmen. They only managed to take two wickets in the entire innings. The wicket-takers were Shaheen Afridi, who took one wicket for 54 runs in his nine overs, and Mohammad Nawaz, who took one wicket for 38 runs in his eight overs.
The Player of the Match award went to Ibrahim Zadran of Afghanistan for his brilliant knock of 87 runs, which set up the chase for his team. He played with patience and aggression, hitting nine fours and two sixes in his innings.
The best player from Pakistan was Babar Azam, who scored a classy innings of 89 runs at the top of the order. He showed his class and skill, hitting nine fours and one six in his innings.
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