Afghanistan continued their winning ways in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, as they comprehensively defeated Netherlands by 7 wickets to register their third successive win and fourth overall to move to fifth spot on points table.
Netherlands captain Scott Edwards won the toss and elected to bat first in Lucknow, and despite losing opener Wesley Barresi cheaply for 1, Max O'Dowd (42) and Colin Ackermann (29) got the team off to a fine start of 73/1 in the 12th over.
Things took a turn for the worst from there for the Dutch as they suffered four run outs to slump to 179 all out in 46.3 overs. Sybrand Engelbrecht batted well for 58, before he too was run out. Mohammad Nabi (3/28) and Noor Ahmad (2/28) were the most successful bowlers for Afghanistan.
Afghanistan, who had defeated Pakistan and Sri Lanka in their previous encounters while batting second, completed the hat-trick as they chased off the moderate 180-run target in just 31.3 overs with Rahmat Shah (52) and captain Hashmatullah Shahidi (56*) scoring fifties. Mohammad Nabi was declared the Player-of-the-Match for his crucial spell.
Irfan Pathan, commentator and former India cricketer, for the third consecutive time celebrated Afghanistan's victory with a dance at his home. Previously he danced with Rashid Khan in Chennai and Harbhajan Singh in the Star Studios.
He wrote on Instagram, “The Afghan team’s performance in this World Cup has shifted the conversation from their bowling to their remarkable batting. Kudos to them for their consistent displays.”
The cricketing fraternity too reacted to Afghanistan's impressive win. Here are the posts:
