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ODI world cup 2023 Cricket

'Pakistan ab ro raha hoga' - Fans react as Afghanistan leapfrogs Pakistan in 2023 ODI World Cup, beat Netherlands by 7 wickets

Afghanistan have moved up to fifth place in the points table. They have dethroned Pakistan, who have six points from seven matches.

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Mathew K
New Update
Afghanistan (Source: Twitter)

Afghanistan (Source: Twitter)

Afghanistan moved up to the 5th spot in the 2023 ODI World Cup after their latest win against the Netherlands at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. The Asian side registered their third clinical run chase in a row and jumped past former champions Pakistan in the points table. After a dominant 7-wicket win on Friday, November 3, Afghanistan now have 8 points from 7 matches.

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The Dutch skipper Scott Edwards won the toss and opted to bat first but he did not get the expected starting. Spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman got rid of opener Wesley Barresi in the very first over. However, Max ODowd and Colin Ackermann stitched a crucial partnership for the second wicket. Their 70-run partnership steadied the innings but ODowd's wicket in the 12th over shifted the momentum towards Afghanistan. 

The game took a dramatic turn when the Netherlands lost five wickets for a mere 40 runs. From 73-2 in 11.2 overs, Afghanistan reduced their opponents to 113-6 in 25.3 overs. Four of their top five batters were dismissed in the form of run out, including their in-form skipper. Sybrand Engelbrecht hung in at one end and scored a brilliant fifty to help the team post a decent total on the board.

There were no contributions this time from the lower order as Afghan bowlers took wickets at regular intervals. Engelbrecht's 86-ball 58 and ODowd's 42 off 40 gave them a total of 179/10 in 46.3 overs. Mohammad Nabi, who won the Player of the Match, grabbed three wickets, while Noor Ahmad took two wickets. 

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Rahmat - Shahidi partnership guided Afghanistan to a comfortable win 

A target of 180 was never going to be a challenge on a decent batting surface and the Afghan batters proved it right by chasing down the total in 31.3 overs. Openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran departed without making much of an impact. But Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi took the responsibility of scoring by making a match-winning partnership. 

Rahmat brought up his third half-century in a row but couldn’t see his side through. Shahidi, on the other hand, scored an unbeaten fifty and finished the game with a boundary. The captain was accompanied by Azmatullah Omarzai, who scored 31 off 28 balls. 

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Here's how fans reacted to Afghanistan's win over Netherlands in the 2023 ODI World Cup:

Afghanistan featured Netherlands ODI World Cup 2023