Afghanistan’s opening batsman Ibrahim Zadran said he was “proud of myself and my country” after the stunning eight-wicket win over Pakistan in the Cricket World Cup on Monday.
Chasing a target of 283 runs, Zadran (87), Rahmat Shah (77 not out) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (65) led the team to their second victory of the tournament after also shocking defending champions England.
“In this kind of event it is very important for me. I feel very proud of myself and my country,” said Zadran, 21.
“I wanted to go out with a positive intention and a positive spirit.”
Zadran and compatriot Gurbaz, who is also just 21, put on 130 for the first wicket as Afghanistan beat Pakistan for the first time in eight ODI matches.
“Gurbaz and I have formed many good partnerships. We have been playing together since we were 16, so we always have good communication,” he added.
“The support from him on the other end of the phone was very important and gave a good dynamic to the team.”
Pakistan have now lost three matches in a row after opening the World Cup with two victories.
“It really hurt us,” said captain Babar Azam, under fire from criticism.
“We scored a good total but our bowling was not up to the mark.
“In World Cups you need all three departments to shoot and we didn’t do that. Afghanistan played very well but we gave them a lot of points and it cost us dearly.”
The victory was greeted with gunfire, cheers and fireworks in the Afghan capital, Kabul, for at least 15 minutes after the match ended.
Afghanistan’s victory comes against a backdrop of tense political and diplomatic relations between the two neighbors.
