Tag: Afghanistan

The Chennai chapter of Pakistan’s campaign in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 begins on Monday when they play spin-packed Afghanistan at MA Chidambaram Stadium.

After Afghanistan, Pakistan will stay in the city to play South Africa on 27 October for their second and last match of the tournament here.

Pakistan, after four games, are fifth on the points table with two wins and as many losses. After following the tournament with remarkable wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka, which saw them make the record for the highest successful chase in the history of the tournament, Pakistan have had a few tough outings.

Pakistan are eager to leave Chennai 4-2 up and fast bowler Shaheen Afridi believes that learnings from the last two matches will help the side in the upcoming matches.

“We are aware of the expectations from the team and we are eager to fulfil them,” he told PCB Digital ahead of the match against Afghanistan.

“A loss is a loss and we need to accept it. But, learning from it would be better for the team. These two matches were very important for us, but we are very much alive in the tournament. We are here to make history [by winning the World Cup].”

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It will be Afghanistan’s second match on the trot here in Chennai. While the experience of playing New Zealand, albeit in a defeat, may help them, they are buoyed by a win over England.

Afghanistan, however, are yet to defeat Pakistan in ODIs but Shaheen did not want to emphasize the past record.

“There is no room for complacency in a tournament like the World Cup as any team can beat anyone, something that we have seen so far.

“Afghanistan have been playing good cricket and they have recently defeated England. We will have to show up with the best skills against them. They have world-class spinners, but, thanks to Almighty, our batting unit has also been doing well.”

For the unversed, Chennai’s conditions are said to be more spin-friendly but Shaheen was eager to find the reverse swing in the middle overs.

“There are many venues in India that favour spinners and Chennai is one such venue. As fast bowlers, our role is to make the most of the reverse swing on offer in the middle overs and in the latter stages of the game.”

READ: Imam-ul-Haq says Pakistan ‘will be a different team’ against Afghanistan

CHENNAI: Left-handed opener Imam-ul-Haq asserted that the Pakistan cricket team has analyzed its situation and also that a “different team” will take on Afghanistan in Monday’s ICC World Cup 2023 fixture.

Imam-ul-Haq, while speaking at the pre-match conference here accepted the national team’s struggle to convert solid knocks into bigger ones.

“When you are chasing 367, you have to take risks. I agree we are not able to play big innings, I also agree that we haven’t played well in the last two matches,” said Imam.

“We have analysed our situation, you’ll see a different team tomorrow [against Afghanistan],” he added.

The left-handed opener also acknowledged that the consecutive defeats in the ICC World Cup 2023 had taken a toll on the team’s morale but expressed his confidence that they could be back on the winning track.

“Yes, losing matches back-to-back downs your morale but we back each other and the management is backing the players as well.

“We are confident that we can get back on track after winning against Afghanistan. We aren’t able to convert the 70s or 80s into a century, we have talked to our coach about it.

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In a query regarding the misfiring Pakistan bowling attack, Imam-ul-Haq claimed that every team’s bowlers are being taken for plenty before taking a leaf out of Shaheen Shah Afridi’s five-fer against Australia to back his remarks.

“Bowlers of all the teams are conceding runs, it’s not only happening with us. Shaheen bowled well against Australia,” Imam said.

For the unversed, Pakistan, after starting their ICC World Cup 2023 campaign with back-to-back wins are now on a two-match losing streak, succumbing against India and Australia.

The Babar Azam-led side now sit fifth in the World Cup standings with four points in as many matches.

READ: Afghanistan coach looks for more ‘passionate’ rivalry with Pakistan

Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott said on Sunday that his team are looking forward to renewing a “passionate” rivalry with Pakistan in the ICC World Cup 2023 which has often reflected the stormy political relationship between the two neighbours.

Both sides will clash on Monday and are in desperate need of a win at the ICC World Cup 2023.

Pakistan have lost their last two games after a pair of opening wins. Afghanistan pulled off a shock victory over defending champions England but have also slumped to three defeats.

At the 2019 World Cup match in Leeds, which Pakistan won by three wickets, riots between the two sets of fans erupted outside the stadium.

Afghanistan fast bowler Fareed Malik and Pakistan batsman Asif Ali almost came to blows in a Twenty20 game at Sharjah last year.

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“I think for them (Afghanistan players) it’s a rivalry that excites them,” said Trott on Sunday.

“I think it’s a rivalry that sometimes in the past has been very passionate.

“We’ve had very close games as well. Hopefully, tomorrow isn’t very exciting and we win by a lot. It’s just the nature of the rivalry, I should say.”

He added: “Both teams, I think, respect each other, but are very desperate to win.”

Trott said he wasn’t aware that Pakistan had unsuccessfully demanded the International Cricket Council switch Sunday’s game to another venue.

Reports claimed that Pakistan were keen to dent the threat posed by Afghanistan’s world-class spin attack.

“I didn’t know about them wanting to (change the venue), but I think Pakistan have got good spinners themselves and the thing with spinners, there are only two or three of them playing a game,” said Trott.

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Afghanistan’s spin trio of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi will pose a threat to Pakistan as they did against England, sharing eight wickets in an upset 69-run win.

That game, however, took place in New Delhi.

“It’s everybody’s job, not just the spinners, to win games. There’s batsmen who’ve got to put runs on the board or batsmen who’ve got to chase down a total,” added former England batsman Trott.

“Chennai is normally a good wicket. So, with regards to the mindset, it’s important, as I said, the mindset we have there is that it’s a team game. It’s not just a spinners game.”

Afghanistan have lost all seven ODIs against Pakistan but can take a degree of satisfaction from knowing that they clinched three of the teams’ last four Twenty20 meetings.

“We always look to put the opposition under pressure straight away so we’ll be looking to do that tomorrow obviously, and I don’t think there’s any thoughts with regards to previous matches,” said Trott.

READ: Melbourne Stars routed for record-low 29 in WBBL

Pakistan Men’s cricket team departed for Chennai through a chartered plane from Bengaluru on Saturday for their next ICC World Cup 2023 fixture against Afghanistan, scheduled on October 21.

Upon their arrival, the Pakistan contingent will enjoy a rest day today and hit the nets tomorrow to prepare for the Afghanistan clash on Monday.

Pakistan is currently in fifth position in the ICC World Cup 2023 standings with four points in three matches, with a net run rate of -0.456.

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Pakistan suffered a thumping 62-run loss to Australia, courtesy of David Warner and Mitchell Marsh’s dominating centuries, followed by a disciplined bowling performance.

Set to chase a daunting 368-run target, Pakistan could accumulate 305 in response, before being bundled out in the 46th over.

Pakistan got off to a solid start as their openers Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq also fired with both scoring half-centuries.

The pair took Pakistan to 134 unhurt in 21 before Marcus Stoinis struck on his very first delivery to break the shackles as he outclassed Abdullah with a short-pitched delivery.

Stoinis then struck again in his next over to remove Imam and posted a major dent to Pakistan’s pursuit by removing both set batters in quick succession.

Imam remained the top scorer for Pakistan with a 71-ball 70, hitting 10 boundaries.

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Out-of-form Adam Zampa soon strengthened Australia’s command by claiming the prized scalp of Pakistan captain Babar Azam (18), causing the green shirts to slip to 175/3 in 26.2 overs.

Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan then put together an anchoring 57-run partnership for the fourth wicket before Pat Cummins got rid of Saud,.

Rizwan was then joined by Iftikhar Ahmed in the middle and he charged at the Australian bowlers before Zampa removed him in the 39th over.

Zampa then struck again in his next over and got rid of Pakistan’s mainstay Mohammad Rizwan to put the five-time champions in complete control.

Australian bowlers then ran through their batting tail and soon booked Pakistan on 305 to taste their second consecutive victory, which lifted them to the fourth position in the ICC World Cup 2023.

Adam Zampa led the bowling attack for Australia with 4/53 in his 10, followed by two each from Stoinis and Pat Cummins while Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood struck out a batter apiece.

Pakistan squad for ICC World Cup 2023

Babar Azam (c), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, M Wasim Jnr, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha.

Travelling reserves: Mohammad Haris, Abrar Ahmed, Zaman Khan

Pakistan’s remaining ICC World Cup 2023 fixtures

• October 23 – vs Afghanistan in Chennai
• October 27 – vs South Africa in Chennai
• October 31 – vs Bangladesh in Kolkata
• November 4 – vs New Zealand Bengaluru (Day match)
• November 11 – vs England in Kolkata

The day matches will start at 10:00 am Pakistan Standard Time (PST) while all other matches will be day-night fixtures, starting at 01:30 pm (PST).

READ: Sarfaraz Ahmed promoted, Abrar added to PCB Men’s central contracts list

CHENNAI: Afghanistan have won the toss and elected to field first against New Zealand in the sixteenth match of the ICC World Cup 2023 at MA Chidambaram Stadium.

New Zealand

Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (c & wk), Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult

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Afghanistan

Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi

HEAD TO HEAD RECORD:

Overall ODIs: Matches 2, New Zealand 2, Afghanistan 0

ODI World Cup: Matches 2, New Zealand 2, Afghanistan 0

READ: PCB complains ICC over Ahmedabad crowd’s “inappropriate conduct”

Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott hopes Sunday’s ICC World Cup 2023 upset win over England will “encourage boys and girls” to take up cricket even though the country’s Taliban rulers ban women from playing sport.

The 69-run victory will be regarded as one of the biggest shocks in the history of the tournament as Afghanistan ended a 14-match World Cup losing streak.

“It’s not just cricket that the guys are playing for,” said Trott, who recognised the significance of a win for a nation reeling from recent earthquakes and the Taliban’s fractious international relations.

“The guys are very knowledgeable of the things and the hardship that some people are going through because of the natural disaster and for various other reasons.

“And so, if this can give a smile to people’s faces but also encourage boys and girls to pick up a cricket bat or a cricket ball and get playing cricket wherever they are in Afghanistan, then that’s the sort of the goal that’s been achieved.”

Before Sunday, Afghanistan had only won one match at the World Cup when they defeated Scotland on their 2015 debut.

They lost all nine matches they played at the 2019 tournament in England, including a 150-run rout at the hands of the hosts.

But having scored 284 on Sunday thanks to dashing opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s blistering 80 and Ikram Alikhil’s 58, Afghanistan’s bowlers set to work.

Only Harry Brook with 66 showed any real defiance while spinners Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan claimed three wickets each as England were dismissed for 215.

The result left both sides with a win and two losses each after three games of the 10-nation tournament.

“This win is significant, certainly in the manner and by the margin as well,” added Trott.

“There’s a lot of confidence that will hopefully come from this, it’ll have a knock-on effect to all the other games, but not only in this World Cup, but for the future as well.”

Trott knows all about World Cup shocks. In 2011, he was part of the England team humbled by Ireland in Bengaluru despite him scoring 92.

“That’s the beauty of the World Cup, isn’t it? That’s what cricket’s about, it pushes and pulls you so much emotionally as a player and as a coach.

“But we can compete with anybody in the world.”

Next up for Afghanistan are New Zealand who have three wins from three games including seeing off England in the tournament opener.

New Zealand, runners-up at the last two World Cups, will be favourites.

Trott, however, believes that his players’ exposure to the international game through Twenty20 franchise cricket has only served to bolster Afghanistan’s self-belief.

“I think the fact that a lot of our players have played with the English players in franchise cricket, they get to know the ins and outs of each player so there’s that familiarity and also the confidence,” he explained.

“Sometimes I think when you see big Test-playing nations you sort of hold them in high regard. I think playing with players like that you see that they are human and you are just as entitled to win.”

READ: “Babar and Rizwan were timid,” says Hardik Pandya

NEW DELHI: Afghanistan registered a historic victory as they stunningly defeated defending champions England by 69 runs in the 13th match of the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023 on Sunday.

Set to chase 285, holders England could score 215 in response before being bundled out in the 41st over to hand Afghanistan the biggest victory in their World Cup history.

England got off to a dismal start to the run chase as they lost Jonny Bairstow (2) in the second over with just three runs on the board.

The reigning champions continued to sink into trouble as they lost wickets at regular intervals with their key batters Joe Root (11), Dawid Malan (32), Jos Buttler (9) and Liam Livingstone (10) perishing with modest contributions.

With half of their batters returned to the dugout, England’s hopes were tied on Harry Brook, who waged a lone battle for his side with a gutsy half-century.

His resilience, however, came to an end in the 35th over when Mujeeb got him caught behind and England slipped to 169/8.

Brook remained the top-scorer for England with a 61-ball 66, laced up with seven boundaries and a six.

Late contributions from Adil Rashid (20), Reece Topley (15), and Mark Wood (18) only helped England surpass the 200-run mark.

Star Afghan spinners Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan led the bowling charge for their side by picking up three wickets each while Mohammad Nabi bagged two.

Pacers Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazalhaq Farooqi had a wicket apiece to their names.

After being put to bat, Afghanistan got off to a flying start with a 114-run opening stand, dominated by Rahmanullah Gurbaz.

Ibrahim Zadran contributed a mere 28 runs to the total before falling prey to Adil Rashid, who then sent Rahmat Shah back to the pavilion in the next over.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz who was playing at 80, was then ran out on the next ball, reducing Afghanistan to 122-3.

Gurbaz took only 57 balls to score 80, with the help of eight boundaries and four sixes.

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England bowlers capitalized and kept things really tight to incite Afghanistan batters to make mistakes, resulting in them collapsing to 190-6 in the 37th over.

Ikram Alikhil and Rashid Khan (23) then joined hands to knit a 43-run stand to help Afghanistan recover, but Adil Rashid struck again to break the partnership.

Alikhil anchored through the innings and played a gutsy knock of 58 runs from 66 deliveries, while Mujeeb Ur Rahman played a brisk 28-run cameo to push Afghanistan’s total to 277.

However, England bowlers picked back-to-back wickets and gave away only seven more runs for the last wicket to book Afghanistan to 284.

Adil Rashid led the bowling attack with three wickets, while Mark Wood picked up two wickets.

READ: Dasun Shanaka replaced by Chamika Karunaratne in ICC World Cup 2023 squad

DELHI: England have won the toss and elected to field first against Afghanistan in the thirteenth match of the ICC World Cup 2023 at Arun Jaitley Stadium.

PLAYING XIs

Afghanistan

Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi

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England

Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c)(wk), Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley

HEAD TO HEAD RECORD:

Overall ODIs: Matches 2, England 2, Afghanistan 0

ODI World Cup: Matches 2, England 2, Afghanistan 0

READ: Dasun Shanaka replaced by Chamika Karunaratne in ICC World Cup 2023 squad

DELHI: Jasprit Bumrah returned with figures of 4-39 before Rohit Sharma scored a quickfire century and lifted India to a thumping eight-wicket victory over Afghanistan in their second ICC World Cup 2023 match.

Chasing 273, India comfortably knocked the winning runs for the loss of just two wickets and 90 balls to spare.

Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan gave the hosts a flying start with an impeccable 156-run partnership.

Sharma dominated the opening stand by thrashing the Afghan bowlers and soon brought up his century in just 63 balls.

Afghanistan then finally found a moment to cherish in the 19th over when their star spinner Rashid Khan got rid of Ishan Kishan, who scored a run-a-ball 47 with the help of five boundaries and two sixes.

Sharma was then joined by Virat Kohli at the crease and the two veterans added 49 runs to the total together before Rashid struck again to dismiss the Indian captain.

Rohit Sharma remained the top-scorer for India with 131 in 84 balls, laced up with 16 boundaries and five sixes.

Kohli took charge of India’s pursuit after Rohit’s dismissal and comfortably led India over the line in just 35 overs, courtesy of an unbeaten half-century.

He scored 55 in 56 deliveries, hitting six boundaries.

For Afghanistan, only Rashid Khan picked two wickets while the rest went wicketless.

Bumrah provided India their first breakthrough in the seventh over at a total of 32 after Afghanistan opted to bat first.

Rahmat Shah and Rahmanullah helped Afghanistan to reach 63 with a brief 31-run stand before both batters fell within three deliveries.

With two new batters on the crease, India appeared to be in a dominant position however, Afghanistan batters counter-attacked to pull their team out of trouble.

Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi and allrounder Azmatullah Omarzai responded with a solid 121-run partnership for the fourth wicket, with batters reaching half-centuries.

Hardik Pandya broke the stand when he bowled Omarzai at the score of 184-4. Omarzai scored 62 off 69 with the help of two boundaries and four sixes.

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Shahidi stood his ground and was involved in a 41 partnership with Mohammad Nabi before Kuldeep Yadav trapped him in front of the stumps.

Shahidi top-scored for Afghanistan with an anchoring 82 off 88, featuring eight boundaries and one six.

Jasprit Bumrah then returned to attack to dismiss Mohammad Nabi and Najibullah Zadran in the same over, reducing Afghanistan to 235-7.

However, Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman added valuable 26 runs for the eighth wicket before the former became Bumrah’s fourth victim in the penultimate over.

Other than Bumrah, Hardik Pandya picked two wickets while Shardul Thakur and Kuldeep Yadav picked one wicket each.

READ: ICC World Cup 2023: Zaka Ashraf to travel to India tomorrow