Afghanistan men’s cricket team defeated Pakistan by six wickets in the first Twenty20 match of the three-match series on Friday (March 24), scripting history. For the first time ever in T20Is, Afghanistan defeated Pakistan. Afghanistan bowled out Pakistan for their fifth-lowest T20I total ever before chasing it down with 2.1 overs left in the match, making it a rather convincing victory. After winning the toss, Pakistan chose to bat first and finished with just 92 for 9 in their allotted 20 overs. Pakistan had trouble scoring throughout the innings, with Imad Wasim leading the way with 18 off 32 deliveries.
Afghanistan deployed six bowlers, each claiming at least one wicket. Rashid took the initiative and finished with a spell that resulted in figures of one for fifteen in four overs. Azamatullah, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Mohammad Nabi each took two wickets, while Faalhaq Farooqi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Nabi each took one. The Pakistani team was certainly second-string, with stalwarts like Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, and Shaheen Shah Afridi absent. Still, the Afghans capitalised on the situation and put in an excellent effort.
‘Tough to chase in these conditions’ – Mohammad Nabi
Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, the Afghanistan openers tasked with chasing the goal, got off to a quiet start until three wickets went for just a few runs during the powerplay. Karim Janat also left without delay. But Nabi and Najibullah Zadran came together in time and assembled an unbroken 53-run partnership to send Afghanistan home with 6 wickets and 13 balls remaining.
The Afghan team’s locker room was in frenzy as they lavishly celebrated their historic victory. Nabi’s match-winning innings and two crucial wickets earned him the Player of the Match title. He compared his 38 unbroken runs to a century because they occurred amid a difficult chase. “Tough to chase in these conditions. As a batting group, my plan was to bat on and take responsibility. Most of the guys are playing in big leagues. Some guys came from the PSL. We wanted to do our best in the series. Sometimes 38 is equivalent to a 100 in conditions like these,” Nabi said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
Here’s how fans reacted to Afghanistan’s heroics:
— Rohit (@rohit_0718) March 24, 2023
Kenya have also beaten India in International cricket
— Abdul Manan (@iAbdulManan_) March 24, 2023
Winning against our B team is no achievement 😘
— S M Tabish Tariq 🇵🇰 🇵🇸 (@SMTabishTariq) March 24, 2023
Pokdisthan fans now 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/hoMO3zWVl0
— Nimish Shirsat (@shirsat_nimish) March 24, 2023
— Rohit (@rohit_0718) March 24, 2023
The hero @iamnajibzadran ❤️ pic.twitter.com/8Rp4wbom0Q
— Faheem Marwat (@AfghaNarrative) March 24, 2023
Pakistan Players Today pic.twitter.com/vHSRFzeP8g
— jerome pownotwell (@propnetwork1) March 24, 2023
Iconic pic pic.twitter.com/GENm6Y02Ba
— Krunal Joshi (@aliya_baloch78) March 24, 2023
