Afghanistan players and staff members celebrate their win against Pakistan in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match in Chennai on October 23, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

After a few close encounters between the two sides in recent times, Afghanistan finally got one over Pakistan for the first time in one-day internationals, and the team’s coach, Jonathan Trott, was all praise for the way his side dominated the game on October 23.

“Well, yeah, it doesn’t take a lot to see the passion and the rivalry between them. You know, (in) Asia Cup, we had a very disappointing loss last year. And then we had a series against them a couple of months ago, a three-match ODI series, in which a few times we were in the game, and I am just glad today we were in the game again and managed to get across the line,” said Trott on the significance of Afghanistan’s historic victory over Pakistan.

The former English batter also felt the win would give the team’s batters a sense of self-confidence that they could do this consistently and inspire the next set of cricketers back home.

“Very happy for a few of the batsmen who have, hopefully, will now have that self-belief that we can go on and trust their games and be very confident for the games coming forward. I think for the country, it just shows the amount of talent, and as it was when we were fortunate enough to beat England, it inspires another generation of players to pick up a cricket bat or ball and work on their fielding and fitness,” he added.

Crediting the performance of the openers in setting up the victory, Trott said, “The turning point for me was the start that Ibrahim and Gurbaz gave us – I think it is always good when you’re chasing a total like that. You need a good start, and there is less pressure on the players coming in. So those two batsmen, I think (were) outstanding. I’m very happy for Ibrahim getting into the tournament now and showing everybody on the world stage what a good player he is.”

The Afghan coach also praised Rahmat Shah’s unbeaten knock of 77 and how he anchored the chase. “I thought the players in the middle, their emotions were outstanding. I think to have a historic win like this as well for the players, you could easily get ahead of yourself or get a bit nervous or panicky. I thought the way that Rahmat Shah played, there are still a few things, a few singles he could have maybe taken to take the pressure off himself, but the shot that he played there to hit a straight six sort of broke the back of the game and the way that the captain played as well, you know, took the pressure off the changing room,” the 42-year-old explained.

Meanwhile, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam felt his team’s bowlers and fielders did not put their best foot forward, resulting in the former champions’ third-straight defeat of the tournament.

“This loss was very hard as a team. I think we were not up to the mark in bowling and fielding. In the middle overs, the spinners didn’t bowl as they should have and didn’t put pressure on them,” said Azam.

“In fielding, you must put in extra effort and be fit. You should focus on the ball, not on other thoughts, and when the ball comes, you have to be proactive as a fielder, so I think we are lagging a little bit as a fielding unit,” added the Pakistani skipper.

Babar Azam plays a shot during the World Cup 2023 match between Pakistan and Afghanistan at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai October 23, 2023.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Opting to bat, Pakistan scored 282 for 7 in their World Cup match against Afghanistan here on Monday.

Captain Babar Azam top-scored with 74 off 92 deliveries while opener Abdullah Shafique contributed 58. Shadab Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed made 40 each down the order to take the score past 280.

Noor Ahmad was the most successful Afghan bowler with figures of 3/49 while Naveen-ul-Haq chipped in with 2/52.

Scoreboard:

Pakistan Innings: Abdullah Shafique lbw b Noor Ahmad 58 Imam-ul-Haq c Naveen-ul-Haq b Azmatullah Omarzai 17 Babar Azam c Mohammad Nabi b Noor Ahmad 74 Mohammad Rizwan c Mujeeb Ur Rahman b Noor Ahmad 8 Saud Shakeel c Rashid Khan b Mohammad Nabi 25 Shadab Khan c Mohammad Nabi b Naveen-ul-Haq 40 Iftikhar Ahmed c Azmatullah Omarzai b Naveen-ul-Haq 40 Shaheen Shah Afridi not out 3 Extras: (LB-4 NB-1 W-12) 17

Total: (For 7 wickets in 50 overs) 282

Fall of wickets: 1/56 2/110 3/120 4/163 5/206 6/279 7/282

Afghanistan bowling: Naveen-ul-Haq 7-0-52-2, Mujeeb Ur Rahman 8-0-55-0, Mohammad Nabi 10-0-31-1, Azmatullah Omarzai 5-0-50-1, Rashid Khan 10-0-41-0, Noor Ahmad 10-0-49-3.