The 'Giant Slayer' Afghanistan team caught Pakistan off-guard as their batters chased down 283 at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. As Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi hit the winning boundary off Shaheen Afridi on the last ball of the penultimate over, crazy celebrations followed. Afghan players rushed to the ground to celebrate their first-ever win over Pakistan in ODIs. It was followed by a ‘lap of honour’ to thank the Chennai crowd who gave them a standing ovation. During the ‘lap of honour’, Rashid Khan broke away and danced with former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Irfan Pathan.
The video of two all-rounders celebrating Afghanistan’s landmark win over Babar Azam’s men has gone viral on social media.
Earlier, Rashid was economical with the ball. Pakistan batters did not take many chances against him. He conceded 41 runs from his quota of 10 overs.
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 the finishing touches which was required and all 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 the time being, stay put in 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.
Another seasoned all-rounder Mohammad Nabi was ecstatic after the win as he said, “Big moment for the whole team, the whole of Afghanistan. We’ve been waiting for 10-12 years for such a moment and to win one game in the big event against Pakistan. Last 3 months we worked very hard, this is a lovely moment today. We beat England and now Pakistan, everyone is in a good mood. We can not only defend, but also chase well now. This win is the favorite, we have played them 7-8 games against them and in the last moment we have always lost.”
With inputs from PTI
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