History! Afghanistan rout Pakistan by 8 wickets in ICC World Cup, top-three batters hit fifties

Opening batter Imam-Ul-Haq on Sunday had declared that a "new" Pakistan team will take the field against Afghanistan in Chennai. Having seen the way his team bowled against the neighbours in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023, one can't help but wonder if this was really what Imam-Ul-Haq had in mind when he made the claim. 

Chasing a competitive 282, the Afghan top order made quick work of the famous Pakistan bowling attack and crossed the finish line with .. to spare. They were in such good touch that the top three found half-centuries and at no point surrendered the rhythm of the chase.

It was Afghanistan's first ODI victory against Pakistan in eight meetings.

Openers Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz stitched a 130-run partnership, building a strong foundation for the chase. While Gurbaz made 65 from 53 deliveries Zadran made 87 from 113. The left-handed Gurbaz's quickfire innings included nine tremendous boundaries and one maximum.

Later, the experienced Rahmat Shah () took charge of the situation alongside his skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi ()

Earlier, skipper Babar Azam struck a composed half-century before useful cameos by lower-order batters guided Pakistan to 282 for seven against Afghanistan in their World Cup match here on Monday.

Opener Abdullah Shafique made 58 off 75 balls and Babar got 74 off 92 balls, but had it not been for the efforts of Iftikhar Ahmed and the returning Shadab Khan, Pakistan would have finished with far less than what they eventually achieved.

While Iftikhar smashed his way to a 27-ball 40, Shadab contributed a breezy 40 in 38 deliveries.

Babar and Saud Shakeel (25) paired up briefly for a 43-run stand for the fourth wicket, even as the run rate dropped a bit to put pressure on the batters.

The result was that Shakeel was dismissed by Mohammad Nabi in the 34th over, before Babar and Shadab Khan (40) stitched a 43-run partnership for the fifth wicket.

During this phase, Babar also scored his 30th ODI 50 before offering a catch to Nabi off Noor with the score reading 206 for five in the 42nd over.

Then, Shadab and Iftikhar took charge and propped up the team's score with their lusty hitting, adding 73 invaluable runs in quick time.

Naveen broke the stand by getting rid of Iftikhar in the final over, besides also dismissing Shadab.

As for the Afghan bowlers, left-arm wrist spinner Noor was the most successful and claimed three wickets for 49 runs in his full quota of 10 overs. 

Expecting a slow pitch, the Afghans moved in with four spinners. However, the track turned out to be better than expected.