Chennai: A spirited Afghanistan team continued its giant-killing spree to literally push Pakistan on the brink of elimination with a eight-wicket victory in a World Cup game on Monday.
On a challenging Chepauk track, a target of 283 was certainly not the easiest of chases but Kolkata Knight Riders’ Rahmanullah Gurbaz (65 off 53 balls) teed off in style while his partner Ibrahim Zadran (87 off 113 balls) dropped anchor at the other end in an opening stand of 130 which laid the perfect platform.
While experience is worth its weight in gold in these kind of games, Afghanistan did well enough to chase down the target in 49 overs, exposing the frailties of Pakistan bowling unit which just didn’t turn up on the day.
Having lost seven ODIs against Pakistan, Afghanistan was missing out on that finishing touches which was required and all the four batters did play their parts to perfection in what was their highest run-chase in history of 50 over format.
This is Afghanistan’s second win after beating defending champions England in New Delhi and with four points are now placed sixth in mid-table muddle.
Pakistan, for time being, stay put on fifth place but after a hat-trick of defeats, another loss against South Africa later this week, will in all likelihood shut the knock-out doors for the 1992 champions.
Seasoned Rahmat Shah (77 not out off 84 balls), whose straight six down the ground off Hasan Ali was a visual treat, showed admirable situational awareness even as Pakistan bowlers did put pressure on him during the second phase of the chase. He repeated the same shot off the same bowler to put Afghanistan within sniffing distance of victory.
He got good support from skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi (48 not out, 45 balls), who reverse swept an off-colour Shadab Khan against the turn during crucial juncture which spoke volumes about his temperament. The duo added 96 runs for the third wicket in some of the most difficult batting conditions. The sense of happiness and elation after hitting the winning boundary was there for everyone to see.
The 21,000 odd sporting crowd at Chepauk also gave the team a nice standing ovation.
The match that was played on the same track as the India versus Australia game had both grip and turn on offer but 282 for 7 by Pakistan was by no means a poor effort if one takes quality spin bowling unit that Afghanistan possesses.
