Afghanistan defeated Pakistan for the first time in ODI

Third upside -down of World Cup 2023, chased the score of 283 in the 49th over.

Pakistan won the toss and chose batting at Chepauk ground in Chennai. The team scored 282 runs for 7 wickets in 50 overs, Noor Ahmed took 3 wickets. Afghanistan achieved the target by losing 2 wickets in the 49th over. Ibrahim Zadran scored 87 runs, he also made an opening partnership of 130 runs with Rahmanullah Gurbaz.

After the win over Pakistan, Afghanistan got 4 points, the team reached sixth position in the points table. While Pakistan is at number-5 even after the third defeat in 5 matches, their hopes of reaching the semi-finals have suffered a setback. The team will now have to depend on other teams along with winning its remaining four matches. See Pakistan-Afghanistan scorecard

130 run opening partnership between Zadran and Gurbaz
After a great start in the powerplay, opener Ibrahim Zadran made a 130-ball opening partnership with Rahmanullah Gurbaz. This partnership was broken by Shaheen Shah Afridi. He dismissed Gurbaz.
After Gurbaz was out, Zadran was returned to the pavilion by Hasan Ali.

Great start from Afghani openers, DRS saved Zadran
The openers gave a great start to the Afghan team which came out to chase the target of 283 runs. Both scored 60 runs in 10 overs of powerplay. The pair of Zadran-Gurbaz started aggressively from the first overs. Scored 10 runs in Shaheen's first over. 8 runs came in the second over. A total of 16 runs were scored in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth overs.

The umpire gave Zadran out in the sixth over. In such a situation, DRS saved him. After getting a lease of life, in the 8th over, Zadran along with Gurbaz scored 17 runs in one over of Haris Rauf. Both of them hit four fours in one over of Haris. During this period, poor fielding was also seen.

Pakistani innings from here

Iftikhar's aggressive 40 runs, Shafiq-Babar's fifty; Pakistan 282/7
Pakistani team won the toss and batted first and scored 282 runs for 7 wickets in 50 overs.

For the Pakistani team at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai, opener Abdullah Shafiq scored half-centuries of 58 runs and captain Babar Azam scored 74 runs, while Iftikhar Ahmed contributed 40 runs on 27 balls. In between, Saud Shakeel played 25 innings and Shadab Khan played 32 run innings.

Noor Ahmed took 3 wickets for Afghanistan. Naveen-ul-Haq took 2 wickets. Mohammad Nabi took one wicket.

Brilliant bowling by Afghan spinners, took 4 wickets
After a great start in the powerplay, the Afghan spinners bowled brilliantly. Noor Ahmed and Rashid Khan kept the Pakistani batsmen contained and prevented them from crossing 200. In such a situation, Pakistani batsmen could score only 135 runs for 4 wickets in the middle 30 overs.
Opener Abdullah Shafiq and captain Babar Azam completed their respective half-centuries, while openers Imam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Rizwan could not perform well.

There were two important partnerships from Pakistan side in between. Babar added 54 runs with Abdullah Shafiq for the second wicket and 43 runs with Saud Shafiq for the fourth wicket.

Pakistan's strong start in powerplay
The pair of Imam-Shafiq gave a strong start to Pakistan. The openers played the spells of fast bowler Naveen Ul Haq and spinner Mujeeb ur Rehman, who came to bowl with the new ball, carefully. Shafiq and Imam played grounded shots in the first four overs and maintained balance.

After understanding the condition of the pitch, Pakistani openers started opening their hands. Both of them took 11 runs in the 5th over, Naveen Ul Haq took 11 runs, while in the 6th over, Mujeeb took 12 runs. Mujeeb also gave 12 runs in the 8th over.

Pakistani batsmen looked completely dominant on spin. Pacer Azmatullah Omarzai and spin all-rounder Mohammad Nabi were brought in in the ninth and tenth overs. This reduced the run speed. Pakistan scored 56 runs in the powerplay without losing any wicket.

Playing eleven of both the teams

Pakistan: Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Shafiq, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf.

Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wicketkeeper), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq and Noor Ahmed.