The Pakistan dressing room was jolted to the core on Monday (October 23) as they suffered an embarrassing eight-wicket defeat at the hands of Afghanistan in Chennai.
Opting to bat first, The Men in Green posted 282/7 on the board and Afghanistan overhauled the target with an over to spare.
During the chase, the Afghanistan team didn’t panic for a moment. While Rahmanullah Gurbaz (65) and Ibrahim Zadran (87) set the tone with an opening stand of 130 runs, Rahmat Shah (77*) and skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi (48*) stayed till the end to seal the deal.
This loss has sent shockwaves in Pakistan’s cricketing fraternity. However, former Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Hafeez doesn’t consider it an upset.
"It was really exciting to see how Afghanistan handled the pressure when the scales were even. They could have won or they could have lost as well. And then the pressure of winning creeps into you," Hafeez said on PTV Sports.
"However, he (Rahmat Shah) remained calm, built on the momentum, and stayed till the end. It was special from him. He took calculated risks after knowing the field and backed his abilities to do well. Their top order fired well, their openers and Rahmat, and in ODI cricket your top order plays an important role in winning.
"You generally expect this from a big team but today they played like a major team. One should not think it was an upset. It was the most-awaited victory for them. Previously, they were chasing the win and we were lucky to have won on a couple of occasions. This is no fluke and you cannot call this victory an upset," he added.
Earlier this month, Afghanistan also defeated Pakistan in the semi-final of the Asian Games, where both teams sent their second-string sides.
"Pakistan should reflect and admit we are making mistakes. It is not that I am taking away any credit from Afghanistan. They played incredible cricket today. They played with passion and we could see that in their body language," Hafeez remarked.
In order to reach the semi-final of the World Cup 2023, Pakistan will now have to win their remaining four games and also hope for other results to go their way.
