MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai witnessed an historic event in PAK Vs AFG, the 22nd match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, played on Monday, 23 October 2023. The match concluded with Afghanistan winning by 8 wickets. The player of the match was Ibrahim Zadran of Afghanistan who scored 87 runs in 113 balls.
Here is a summary of the match:
| Team | Score | Overs | Wickets |
| Pakistan | 282 | 50 | 7 |
| Afghanistan | 286 | 49 | 2 |
Brief Highlights of PAK Vs AFG, the 22nd match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023:
While batting first, Pakistan made a total of 282 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in the 50 overs. Although Pakistan posted a decent and defendable total, Pakistani bowling could not and failed to defend. If we look at the batting of the Pakistan cricket team, it has been quite impressive, especially for Shafique, who made 58 runs in 75 runs; Babar Azam scored 74 runs in 92 balls. But none of these batsmen could convert their total into centuries, and they had to settle for half-centuries only.
Apart from these two batsmen, none of the Pakistani batsmen could reach the half-century mark. Their batting performance is as follows: Imam-up-Haq (17 runs off 22 balls), Rizwan (8 runs off 10 balls), Saud Shakeel (25 runs off 34 balls), Shadab Khan (40 runs off 38 balls), Iftikhar (40 runs off 27 balls), and Shaheen Afridi (3 runs off 3 balls).
When Afghanistan’s openers came for batting, they were looking confident and eager to win the match. Opening batsman of Afghanistan Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran provided a good start and put up 130 runs for the first wicket.
Afghanistan lost its 2nd wicket in the form of Ibrahim Zadran when the total score of Afghanistan was 190 runs in 33.3 overs. Till this point of the game, Afghan batters had already dented the Pakistani bowling attack, and even their middle spin attack was also neutralized.
Finally, Rahmat (77) and Shahidi (48) navigated the Afghan team to the winning total of 283 runs.
Throughout the match, Afghan players have shown a sense of maturity and potential to be big contenders in the coming days.
The player of the match was awarded to Ibrahim Zadran for his outstanding performance and for taking his country towards the winning total.
It has been a proud and historic moment not only for the Afghan fans but also for the many cricket lovers supporting the Afghan team.
Playing Eleven of Pakistan for PAK Vs AFG, the 22nd match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023:
| Serial No. | Player | Role |
| 1 | Abdullah Shafique | Batter |
| 2 | Imam-ul-Haq | Batter |
| 3 | Babar Azam (C) | Batter |
| 4 | Mohammad Rizwan (WK) | Wicketkeeper-Batter |
| 5 | Saud Shakeel | Batting Allrounder |
| 6 | Iftikhar Ahmed | Batting Allrounder |
| 7 | Shadab Khan | Bowling Allrounder |
| 8 | Usama Mir | Bowler |
| 9 | Shaheen Afridi | Bowler |
| 10 | Hasan Ali | Bowler |
| 11 | Haris Rauf | Bowler |
Playing Eleven of Afghanistan for PAK Vs AFG, the 22nd match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023:
| Serial No. | Player | Role |
| 1 | Rahmanullah Gurbaz | Wicketkeeper-Batter |
| 2 | Ibrahim Zadran | Batter |
| 3 | Rahmat Shah | Batter |
| 4 | Hashmatullah Shahidi (C) | Batter |
| 5 | Azmatullah Omarzai | Bowling Allrounder |
| 6 | Ikram Alikhil (WK) | Wicketkeeper-Batter |
| 7 | Mohammad Nabi | Bowling Allrounder |
| 8 | Rashid Khan | Bowling Allrounder |
| 9 | Mujeeb Ur Rahman | Bowler |
| 10 | Naveen-ul-Haq | Bowler |
| 11 | Noor Ahmad | Bowler |
Many experts consider Afghanistan a strong contender in any format of cricket. They have been improving their approach and way of navigating the difficult situation in the match, overall showing positive results for cricket in Afghanistan.
Here is the point table for PAK vs. AFG, the 22nd match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Afghanistan, having defeated Pakistan on October 23, 2023, has taken an upward jump in the point table.
| Team | Matches Played | Matches Won | Matches Lost | Matches Tied | No Result | Points | Net Run Rate (NRR) |
| India | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | +1.353 |
| New Zealand | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | +1.481 |
| South Africa | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +2.212 |
| Australia | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -0.193 |
| Pakistan | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -0.400 |
| Afghanistan | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -0.969 |
| Bangladesh | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.784 |
| Netherlands | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.790 |
| Sri Lanka | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1.048 |
| England | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1.248 |