The Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott does not believe these victories were upsets: "I'm not sure I'd say upset if I'm honest. It's a disservice to the guys."
There is a high likelihood that the ongoing ODI World Cup will be one of the most unpredictable ever. On Monday, Afghanistan sprang a surprise at the M.A. Chidambaram stadium in Chennai by winning by eight wickets against Pakistan, underlining the very statement.
With a quick-fire 27-ball 40 from Iftikhar Ahmed, Pakistan posted a daunting total of 282/7 after winning the toss and electing to bat first.
In one of the most unpredictable editions of the quadrennial tournament, the ongoing ODI World Cup might be one of the most unpredictable. When Afghanistan registered an eight-wicket victory over Pakistan on Monday at the M.A. Chidambaram stadium in Chennai, it underlined the very statement.
With Iftikhar Ahmed scoring a quick-fire 40 off 27 balls, Pakistan posted a daunting total of 282/7 after winning the toss and electing to bat first.
A huge total on its back and Afghanistan's history of losing to Pakistan in ODIs made the chase even more challenging. With a commanding 128-ball 130 partnership up front, openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran soaked up all the pressure and laid the foundation for their side.
With Gurbaz and Ibrahim starting us off, we were well ahead of where we thought we should have been, so we broke the chase down to 10-over splits. It gave us a little bit of breathing room at the end of the game," Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott said after the win.
The 49th over gave us the opportunity to finish the game off. That was great," he said.
Afghanistan has not made waves in this tournament for the first time. Trott does not view these wins as upsets, contrary to popular belief. A while back, Hashmatullah Shahidi-led Afghanistan thumped reigning champion England 69 runs to win by 69 runs.
"I don't think I would say upset if I were honest. It would be a disservice to the guys in the changing room. Perhaps you would say underdogs, but it's not an upset. We played well, these guys work hard, they deserve to win." said the 42-year-old.
Noor Ahmad was outstanding as he finished his quota of 10 overs with three wickets, giving away 49 runs, apart from the final five overs where the bowlers conceded 60 runs.
“Whenever Afghanistan plays, it is important to watch how the spinners bowl. Noor bowled well today, especially for a youngster,” said Trott.
This year's ODI World Cup might prove to be one of the most unpredictable editions of the tournament. On Monday, Afghanistan sprang a surprise by winning eight wickets against Pakistan at the M.A. Chidambaram stadium in Chennai, underscoring the very statement.
Iftikhar Ahmed's quick-fire 27-ball 40 helped Pakistan post a daunting total of 282/7 after winning the toss and electing to bat first.
A huge total on its back and the fact that Afghanistan has never won against Pakistan in ODIs made the chase even more challenging. In spite of all the pressure, openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran put their side on a solid footing with a 128-ball 130 partnership.
"We broke the chase down to 10-over splits. With Gurbaz and Ibrahim's start, we were well ahead of where we thought we had to be by the end of the game, so it allowed us a little bit more breathing room." After the win, Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott said.
In the 49th over, we had the opportunity to finish the game off. That was great," he said.
"I'm not sure if I'd say upset to be honest. I think it's a disservice to the guys in the changing room. Maybe underdogs or something, but it's not an upset. We played well, these guys work hard, and they deserve to win." added the 42-year-old.
Noor Ahmad completed his quota of 10 overs with three wickets, giving away 49 runs. The bowlers conceded 60 runs in the final five overs.
It is important to see how the spinners bowl whenever Afghanistan plays. I thought we got it right with Noor bowling today, certainly for a youngster." said Trott.
"We just need to keep playing good cricket and not get ahead of ourselves," he concluded.
Babar says this loss was very hard for Pakistan
With three consecutive losses, Pakistan is on the verge of elimination.
This clash for the Asian giants was characterized by batting without intent in the middle overs, misfielding, and a bowling unit that failed to perform to its potential.
The loss was very hard. We planned to total 280-290. But when we reached that, the bowling and fielding were not up to par. You have to bowl well and field well," said Babar.
Babar says his team is wary of the situation and will do its best to return to the top in the upcoming matches.
We will try to play our best cricket until the end. There are a lot of matches left, so we will try to win them all. We will try to overcome our mistakes," the Pakistan captain stated.
Babar's bowlers failed to stop an above-par total on a slow wicket, further compounding Pakistan's problems. The side's bowling line-up has failed to live up to expectations despite being known as one of the strongest in the world.
In discussing this topic, Babar said: “We are missing Naseem (Shah) a lot. However, apart from that, our bowling lineup is one of the best in the world, but we don't seem to click. Sometimes we do well in bowling and not in batting. When we do well in batting, we don't do well in fielding.”
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