At MA Chidambaram Stadium, Afghanistan defeated Pakistan by eight wickets in the World Cup of 2023

 At MA Chidambaram Stadium, Afghanistan defeated Pakistan by eight wickets in the World Cup of 2023

In this World Cup, Afghanistan is shown themselves to be giant-killers.

The Afghans overcame Pakistan by eight wickets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Monday after shocking England by defeating the reigning champions by 69 runs in Delhi.

It was undoubtedly a historic occasion for Afghanistan, not just because they defeated Pakistan in their first ODI, but also because it was the first time they had won two games in a 50-over World Cup.

Young Noor Ahmad (3/49), making his ODI World Cup debut, along with Rahmanullah Gurbaz (65), his opening partner Ibrahim Zadran (87), and Rahmat Shah (unbeaten on 77), were key players in this outstanding victory.

Additionally, this victory should increase the joy on the faces of those back home who have lately been affected by earthquakes.

Man-of-the-Match Zadran remarked, "I'm feeling happy for myself and for my country, and I want to dedicate this victory to the people back home." Hashmatullah Shahidi, the captain, promised that "we'll try our best to play positive cricket and do a lot for our country."

Left-armer Noor ended with the best stats on a wicket that does offer some potential for spinners, while senior colleague Rashid Khan gave up just 41 runs off his 10 overs to help Afghanistan limit Pakistan to 282/7 after Babar Azam won the toss and decided to bat.

Following that, what impressed out was the maturity and poise each Afghan hitter exhibited to finally send their team home with an extra over.

Afghanistan may, of course, dream on doing something even greater in this World Cup from this point forward.

What about Pakistan, though? Although they do not have a strong spinner, their performance with the bat and the ball was well below average.

Several experienced batsmen, notably Babar (74), lost their wickets due to errant shots. Additionally, virtually all of them seemed toothless while throwing the ball since the Afghan hitters appeared to be under no strain at all.

Pakistan's prospects of reaching the semi-finals are progressively dwindling after losing three straight games.