Afghanistan defeated Pakistan by 8 wickets in Chennai.
Afghanistan stunned a listless Pakistan in Chennai by 8 wickets, chasing down a 283-run target with ease. Men in Green spinners failed to take a single wicket, whereas Afghanistan employed four proper spinners to restrict Pakistan to under 300 runs.
After the match ended, the Afghanistan team took a lap of honor to thank the Chepauk fans for their support. As the team was passing Irfan Pathan, who was discussing the win with the official broadcaster of the CWC 2023, the all-rounder joined in the celebration.
He danced for a while with Rashid Khan, explaining that he had promised to do so, and hugged the Afghan all-rounder.
“Rasid khan fulfilled his promise and I fulfilled mine. Well done guys,” Pathan wrote on X.
Here is the viral video of Pathan and Rashid dancing:
The video went viral, but Pakistani fans and ex-cricketers are not happy with Pathan’s gesture towards the Afghanistan team. Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal was puzzled by it.
“I was surprised at Irfan Pathan's dance. I remember India beating Pakistan in Australia; even then this kind of happiness wasn’t seen. But there seems to be greater joy in Afghanistan defeating Pakistan. It was sad to see – not just for me but for the nation. The broadcasters should think about that this – neutral commentators shouldn’t do this,” Akmal said on ARY News.
Meanwhile, in Pakistan, the postmortem continues to roll out. Former Pakistan player Ahmed Shehzad has hit out how “friendships” are resulting in selections.
“When you start selecting players on likes and dislikes, then the players feel betrayed in their trust. And the main players quit for America … Friendship is one thing, but you can’t sweep their blunderers under the carpet when you look at the nation,” Shehzad told Ary News.
“All your cream from domestic has quit and gone to the USA as they don’t see any future here. Because they are not given chances at the right time. Ever since PSL has come …Haris Rauf has been bowling in the powerplay and is getting hit. Abdullah Shafeeq, and Saud Shakeel weren’t in the scheme of things, suddenly they were playing. Then it means your planning wasn’t good. Same with Hasan Ali.
Mohammad Haris hits one fifty in PSL and has been with the team for a while now – but he hasn’t played a game nor played domestic. People who have hit 20-25 hundreds are ignored from domestic cricket,” he added.
Pakistan will next face off against a rampaging South Africa in Chennai on October 27.