Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan was seen dancing joyfully along with Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan at the Chepauk ground after Afghanistan recorded a historic, first-ever ODI match win against Pakistan in their World Cup 2023 encounter on Monday in Chennai.
After losing to Pakistan in 7 ODI matches previously, two of them in very tight games, Afghanistan finally kept their nerves to complete a tall chase in Chennai to cause their second upset of the tournament, having defeated England in Delhi 8 days ago.
Both Afghanistan and Pakistan now have 4 points each (2 wins) in 5 games. This win for Afghanistan meant that they jumped in the middle of the points table and England went down to the bottom position, with just one win in 4 games.
After the victory, the Afghanistan players and support staff did a lap of honor at the Chepauk and the Chennai crowd gave them a standing ovation.
Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan, who has often shown his support for the Afghanistan cricket team, danced with Rashid Khan on the ground. Irfan Pathan was on the ground, near the boundary line, for his broadcasting duties when Rashid and his teammates were doing a lap of honor. When Irfan Pathan saw Rashid Khan, both got involved in a brief dance which they both clearly enjoyed very much.
Watch: Irfan Pathan danced with Rashid Khan after Afghanistan’s historic win over Pakistan
![[VIDEO] Irfan Pathan Danced With Rashid Khan After Afghanistan's Epic Win Over Pakistan](https://thecricketlounge.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_7189.webp)
Irfan Pathan dancing with Rashid Khan.
– Video of the day from Chepauk…!!!pic.twitter.com/ijoMGqKht1
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) October 23, 2023
Talking about the game, it was a complete, team performance from Afghanistan.
Wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad was brought in the side specifically for this game, and he delivered on his World Cup debut, picking up a three-wicket haul – taking wickets of Babar Azam, Shafique, and Rizwan. Babar top-scored with 74, Shafique scored 58, and Shadab and Iftikhar scored 40 runs each to take Pakistan to a total of 282.
Many thought that this total would be enough for Pakistan to defend. However, Afghanistan had other plans. And very solid plans. Their batters remained steady throughout their chase and never panicked, as they had done on previous occasions.
Their top three all scored half-centuries: Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored 65 runs, Ibrahim Zadran scored 87 runs, and Rahmat Shah scored 77 unbeaten runs. Captain and number 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi also played superbly to score 48* runs in 45 balls. Ibrahim Zadran was picked as the Player of the Match.
