World Cup 2023: Afghanistan ace the art of chasing in historic victory over Pakistan

Until last Sunday, Afghanistan had won just one match in ICC World Cups since making their debut in the mega event in 2015. They had come close on several occasions, including against more fancied sides such as Pakistan and India in the 2019 edition, but couldn’t quite get that ‘W’ since pulling off a thrilling chase against Scotland in Dunedin in 2015. World Cup 2023: News | Schedule | Results | Points table They also shared a one-sided rivalry with Pakistan, at least as far as the 50-over format is concerned, having never beaten their neighbours across seven ODI meetings since 2012.

In a little over a week, however, Afghanistan not only have ended their ODI jinx against Pakistan but have two more victories in the biggest cricketing event of them all. Both against former champions with one of them the current title holders. What has stood out in Afghanistan’s performance in their two victories is the manner in which they’ve gone about their business and beaten their celebrated opponents. Unlike their victory over Scotland eight years ago, Afghanistan didn’t have to huff and puff their way across the finish line; rather they ended up bossing their opponents in style and ended up registering victories that could be described as dominant. It was a complete performance against England, where the Afghan Atalans not only posted a challenging total of 284 but nearly bundled their opponents out for less than 200. **AFG vs PAK: Top moments from Afghanistan's historic win** While their bowling was impressive against Pakistan on Monday, especially from young Noor Ahmad on the World Cup debut, it was the manner in which they chased the tricky 283-run target down against the Babar Azam-led side that signalled a transformation of this Afghan side. One that is no longer afraid of chasing down steep targets against attacks described as the best in the world, and who finally has mastered the ability to remain calm in the face of pressure. A chase for the ages Noor had shone earlier in the day with his magical spell on World Cup debut, grabbing the key wickets of the well-set Abdullah Shafique and skipper Babar before they could cause any further trouble, besides prising out the wicket of Mohammad Rizwan early. Pakistan were eyeing a second consecutive total in excess of 300 at Chepauk, hoping to end up on the right side this time, but finished about 20 runs short. Chasing 284 against an attack comprising the likes of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan, however, is no joke even if the famed Pakistan attack had looked off-colour in their recent outings. A strong start was the need of the hour for the Afghans in their hopes of eclipsing the challenging target, and the spotlight fell on the opening pair of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran and their ability to negotiate the pacers early in the chase. **AFG vs PAK: Incredible stats from Afghanistan's stunning win** Gurbaz set the tone in the very first delivery with a four off Afridi, clipping an inswinger towards fine leg. Zadran would open his account in a similar fashion four deliveries later, this time going for a well-timed cover drive. Zadran would then dispatch Hasan Ali, who still appears a bit rusty in the new-ball role in Naseem Shah’s absence, for back-to-back fours in the following over. Afghanistan had 18 runs on the board already in two overs and signalled their intent to take on the Pakistan attack head on. The pair managed to bat through the opening powerplay unscathed, with Gurbaz tearing express pacer Haris Rauf in the latter’s opening over along the way, as Afghanistan reached 60 for no loss after 10 overs. Rauf, who had been smashed for runs against India and Australia, was hoping to mount a comeback in this game and justify his place in the side, only to get smacked for four boundaries by the Kolkata Knight Riders wicketkeeper-batter that once again dented his confidence early on in the game. The opening partnership which was ultimately worth a solid 130 and laid the foundation for the successful chase, was marked by Gurbaz’s aggression and Zadran playing his usual anchor role. The latter formed another important partnership with No 3 batter Rahmat Shah, worth 60 coming at a steady pace before he ended up nicking the ball to the keeper off Hasan’s bowling to fall 13 short of a maiden World Cup hundred. The manner in which Hasan and the rest of the Pakistanis celebrated Zadran’s wicket suggested they still harboured hope of mounting a comeback from the precarious position. Additionally, Afghanistan have crumbled from stronger positions in the past, not necessarily while chasing, and it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to assume they were a wicket or two away from a batting collapse that could have led to a very different outcome on Monday evening. [caption id=“attachment_13288172” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Rahman Shah remained unbeaten on 77 in 84 deliveries, guiding Afghanistan to an eight-wicket victory over Pakistan with an over to spare. AP[/caption] This is where the partnership between Rahmat and Hashmatullah Shahidi, worth 96 that ultimately sealed the game in their favour, highlighted another side to Afghanistan’s batting prowess — that of their ability to absorb pressure in the middle overs and create pressure on the opposition with their running between the wickets. Converting ones into twos and twos into threes is a crucial skill when it comes to the art of chasing, as important as collecting boundaries at odd intervals to keep the asking rate in check. Some of the most accomplished chasers in the world such as Virat Kohli are a testament to this fact. Rahmat played a key role in this aspect, his sprinting between the wickets coming quite close to that of Kohli at his prime, and luckily for him, he found just the kind of support from skipper Shahidi at the other end to ensure the Afghans continued achieving the small targets on their way towards conquering the bigger goal. They were also helped by a number of misfields by the Pakistanis, who gifted plenty of extra runs to the Rahmat-Shahidi pair in the process. The Men in Green remain among the worst sides in the ongoing tournament in terms of fielding even as sides such as five-time champions Australia have improved by leaps and bounds in that department after underperforming in their initial games.

The manner with which Rahmat and Shahidi approached the task ensured Afghanistan got over the line in a canter, with the latter collecting a boundary off Shahidi and letting out a triumphant roar that was matched by emotional scenes in the Afghan dugout and joyous celebrations back home.