‘Puri team ek saath retirment lelo’ – Fans react as Afghanistan beat Pakistan by 8 wickets in ODI World Cup 2023 clash

Pakistan and Afghanistan clashed against each other in the 22nd match of the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Monday, October 23. After defeating England, the Aghan team have slayed another giant by defeating the Men in Green by 8 wickets.

Talking about the match, Opting to bat, Pakistan openers Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique got them off to a solid start smashing 56 runs without losing a wicket in the first powerplay. However, Imam fell to the short ball for the third time in the competition and then Afghanistan attacked with spin. 

The scoring rate dipped but Shafique and skipper Babar Azam forged a fifty stand for the second wicket. Noor Ahmad, on his ODI World Cup debut, struck twice in two overs as he nipped out two in-form batters, Shafique and Mohammad Rizwan. The Afghanistan spinners managed to keep a lid on the scoring rate even as the Pakistan captain notched up a fifty. 

Babar fell while attempting to up the ante. But Shadab Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed provided the much-needed acceleration in the final powerplay. The latter showed his hitting prowess against the Pacers. A valuable 27-ball 40 from Iftikhar and a handy 38-ball 40 from Shadab powered Pakistan to a total in excess of 280. Noor ended his 10-over quota by picking up 3 wickets while conceding only 49 runs.

Brilliant batting performance by Afghanistan

Chasing the target, Afghanistan had an amazing start as openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran stitched a massive 130-run stand for the first wicket. They thrashed the Pakistan pace trio all around the corner of the ground during the powerplay and were also helped by the fielders as well.

Pakistan premium pacer Shaheen Afridi provided the much-needed breakthrough in the 22nd over by dismissing Gurbaz on 65 runs, however, the right-handed batter had played his part. After Gurbaz’s dismissal, it looked like Pakistan bowlers will make a comeback from there.

However, that didn’t happen as Zadran continued his brilliant and stitched a 60-run stand with Rahmat Shah for the 2nd wicket. Hasan Ali dismissed Zadran in the 34th over on 87 runs as he missed his century by 13 runs. However, the match was already over for the Men in Green as Rahmat and skipper Hasmatullah Shahidi stitched a match-winning  -run stand for the 3rd wicket and helped the team to win the match by 8 wickets and 6 balls remaining.

Here’s how fans reacted: