Afghanistan stun Pakistan to claim latest Cricket World Cup shock

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Afghanistan celebrate beating Pakistan by eight wickets

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Afghanistan beat Pakistan in an ODI for the first time in their history with a stunning eight-wicket win at the Cricket World Cup.

Jonathan Trott’s side were dominant, with Ibrahim Zadran hitting a match-winning 87 off 113 balls and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (65) and Rahmat Shah (77) backing him up.

Chasing 283 to win, they raced to 286 for two with six balls to spare after Pakistan had won the toss and chosen to bat.

The result in Chennai pushed defending champions England to the bottom of the group.

It is Afghanistan’s second shock of the tournament after they beat England by 69 runs last week.

Defeat also piled on the misery for Pakistan, who have been forced to deny a rift in the squad during the competition in India.

A statement read: “The Pakistan Cricket Board strongly denies recent speculations about any internal discord in the national cricket team currently participating in the ICC World Cup 2023.

“Contrary to rumours circulated by a certain section of the media, the PCB unequivocally assures that the team is cohesive and there is no evidence to support these unsubstantiated claims.

“The PCB is disappointed by the dissemination of this false news and emphasises the importance of upholding journalistic ethics before spreading such allegations.”

Captain Babar Azam top-scored for Pakistan with 74 and Abdullah Shafique hit 58 but they struggled against the Afghanistan spin.

Spinner Noor Ahmad starred, taking three for 49 including the wickets of Shafique and Azam, while Naveen-ul-Haq claimed two for 52.

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