As many as 23,500 fans at the Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium were on their feet to cheer for Rashid Khan & Co. who took a victory lap after their win over the Netherlands acknowledging the support the team has received.
Their fairy-tale campaign at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 got glitterier on Friday night when they shattered Netherlands’ dream of making it to the semi-finals as the World Cup 2023 bids adieu to Lucknow. Chasing a lowly 180, Hashmatullah Shahidi and Rahmat Shah once again came to the fore, sailing the Afghan ship safely to the shore. The skipper sealed a 7-wicket win with a boundary and 115 balls to spare.
The duo seemed to have mastered the art of chasing, no matter what the conditions are. Friday night was another instance when the duo stitched a 50-plus stand after openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran were back in the hut.
ICC World Cup: Schedule | Results | Points Table | Most Runs | Most Wickets
With substantial dew coming into play, Rahmat and Hashmat got more grip on their game, as the Dutch continued to lose theirs. The two senior batters looked near invincible for most of Afghanistan’s chase. They took the matter in their hands when Zadran was cleaned up by veteran spinner Roelof van der Merwe, reducing the Afghans to 55/2.
The next 23 overs were a chasing masterclass, featuring Rahmat and Hashmat. Unlike their previous outings, the former was leading the charge and batting at a faster rate while the skipper decided to play the second fiddle.
In the 20th over, they reached a remarkable milestone; their third consecutive fifty-plus stand in the tournament. A couple of deliveries later, Rahmat notched up his 26th ODI fifty and ensured a third consecutive win for the team as well.
Most consecutive 50-plus stands
As Shahidi upped the ante, Rahmat was caught and bowled by Saqib Zulfiqar and the 72-run stand was broken in the 23rd over. But a golden chapter was scripted in the history of Afghan cricket.
The partnership between Rahmat and Shahidi is now the most 50-plus stand for Afghanistan in World Cups for any wicket. They beat the previous records held by Najibullah Zadran & Samiullah Shinwari (2 consecutive stands for 7th wicket in 2015 and 2019), Gulbadin Naib & Najibullah Zadran (for 6th wicket in 2019) and Ibrahim Zadran & Rahmat Shaconsecutiveuitve in 2023 for the 2nd wicket).
Most successful run-chases at CWC 2023
After their third win on the trot, Afghanistan now stand second on the list of most successful chases in the ongoing tournament. They are ahead of the likes of New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan – all of them have finished a run-chase twice in the World Cup.
India – 5
Afghanistan – 3
New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka – 2
Shahidi seals the victory
Shahidi, the Afghan skipper, dominated the clinical run-chase with an unbeaten 56-run off 54 deliveries, smashing 8 boundaries. The last one was the most gorgeous one as he got closer to the ball and smashed it over mid-wicket to confirm Afghanistan’s fourth win in the tournament.
The Afghan skipper now has the most fifty-plus scores – 5 – in the ODI World Cups. Second on the list is Rahmat Shah who has 4 fifty-plus scores. It was also Shahidi’s third consecutive fifty-plus score in a single edition of the tournament.
Win dedicated to the struggling refugees in Pakistan
Skipper Shahidi was happy with the win but the job is not done yet. They have 2 more games left and being close to the semis, the Afghan camp is trying their best. At the same time, the skipper dedicated the win to the Afghan refugees struggling in Pakistan.
“We are trying our best to make it to the semi-finals. If we make it, it would be a big achievement for us. I lost my mother three goes back, so my family is in pain it will be a big achievement for our country first and then for me also. I would like to give a message – there are a lot of refugee people in struggle, we all are watching their videos and we feel their pain. I dedicate tuition for them,” Shahidi said at the post-match show.
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