ICC World Cup 2023: Noor Ahmad, Ibrahim Zadran star as Afghanistan thrash Pakistan by 8 wickets

livemint.com:

ICC World Cup 2023: It will be unfair to Afghanistan if we call their 8-wicket victory against Pakistan another big upset in the current edition of the World Cup. Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side is known for their sharp bowling, especially spin, but today the team displayed the quality of batting on the slow pitch of Chennai and punished Pakistan bowlers like never before. Now, we had expected that Pakistan bowling may face problems on the pitch of Chennai as their spinners were not that effective in the ICC World Cup 2023, but chasing a target of 282 on the pitch of Chennai is a mountainous task for any batting order.

After winning the toss, Babar Azam-side chose to bat and they wanted to give a big score to Afghanistan. Pakistan openers Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq started well and scored good runs in the beginning. But, pacer Azmatullah Omarzai dismissed Imam-ul-Haq to provide the team with the first wicket.

Skipper Babar Azam walked to the crease with much cheer, but everybody knew that the batter was struggling to find his form in the current edition of the World Cup. He started slow and built a partnership with Abdullah Shafique, who going forward smashed his second 50 of the tournament. But, soon after completing his 50, debutant spinner Noor Ahmad sent him back to the pavilion.

Then came in form Muhammad Rizwan, only to walk back soon as Noor Ahmad got rid of him too in his next over. Saud Shakeel was next and he had a clear role to support his skipper and stabilise the Pakistan innings. The duo did well on the crease against dangerous Afghanistan spinners, but soon Saud Shakeel lost his patience against Mohammad Nabi, and the ball went straight into the hands of Rashid Khan.