Afghanistan on Monday made a mockery of the Pakistani bowling as they successfully chased a target of 283 to register their first-ever win against Pakistan in One Day Internationals.
Batting first, Pakistan could only manage 282-7 in 50 overs with skipper Babar Azam emerging as the top scorer for his side. Azam, who recently became the fastest batter to reach 5,000-run mark in One Day Internationals, made 74. Abdullah Shafique made 58, while Shadab Khan and Iftikhar Khan made 40 each.
It was the 73-run partnership off 45 balls between Khan and Ahmed that helped Pakistan boost its total in the later overs.
Afghanistan started their run chase on an aggressive note as Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran made a mockery of the much-talked-about Pakistani pace attack. Gurbaz was out for 65 from 53 deliveries, while Zadran 87 from 113 balls.
Also making a half-century was Rahmat Shah, making the run chase easy for Afghanistan. He remained unbeaten at 77.
They eventually won the match by eight wickets.
This was Pakistan’s third successive defeat in the World Cup. They had earlier lost to India and Australia.
This is Afghanistan’s only third-ever victory in a World Cup and the first-ever win against Pakistan in the ODI format of the game.