Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India]: Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan celebrated Afghanistan’s odds-defying victory against Pakistan in the ongoing World Cup with star spinner Rashid Khan in style.
Afghanistan left the spectators in a state of bewilderment after registering their second surprise victory in the World Cup and their first-ever win over Pakistan in 50-over cricket on Monday.
The Afghanistan team was taking a victory lap, and Rashid spotted Irfan who was engaged in commentary for the host broadcaster. Both cricketers saw each other shared a warm embrace and danced to celebrate their victory.
Irfan posted a video on Instagram of the wholesome moment wrote about fulfilling his promise if Afghanistan walked victorious and wrote, “And I full filled mine. @rashid.khan19 told me they will win again and I told him I will dance again.”
Riding on a dazzling all-round performance in the field, Afghanistan stunned their neighbours with a thumping eight-wicket defeat on a sluggish Chennai surface on Monday.
The opening pair of Rahmanullah Gurbaz (65), and Ibrahim Zadran (87), along with Rahmat Shah (77)* at No.3, starred with the bat to help Afghanistan post a win for the ages.
After the mauling against India, Pakistan’s bowlers had another forgettable outing, failing to put any pressure on the Afghan batters despite defending an above-par total of 283 on a sluggish and challenging Chennai surface.
Chasing 283, a challenging total on a Chennai pitch affording uneven bounce, Afghanistan cantered to a win by eight wickets, with an over to spare.
Afghanistan has now got the better of two cricketing powerhouses — former world champions Pakistan and the defending champions England. The win lifted Afghanistan to sixth on the points table. On the other hand, Pakistan stayed on the fifth position with four points and a net run rate of -0.400.
The high-flying Afghans will play Sri Lanka next on October 30 at the high-scoring Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.
