World Cup 2023: Afghanistan overtake Pakistan in points table after 7-wicket win against Netherlands in Lucknow

Afghanistan leapfrogged Pakistan into fifth place in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 points table after registering a 7-wicket win against the Netherlands at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Friday, November 3.

Afghanistan kept their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals alive by bagging their fourth win in the 2023 World Cup. With this win, Afghanistan have notched up eight points from seven matches, with a net run-rate of -0.330. The Afghans also cemented their spot in the 2025 Champions Trophy as they can’t finish below eighth in the points table.

Afghanistan started off in great fashion with spinner Mujeeb ur Rahman catching Dutch opener Wesley Barresi LBW in the very first over. Max O’Dowd and Colin Ackermann got the Netherlands back in the game by stitching a 70-run partnership.

RUN OUTS GALLORE

Their stand was broken by Azmatullah Omarzai’s brilliant effort in the field. He ran out O’Dowd with a through a direct hit to provide Afghanistan with a much-needed breakthrough.

O’Dowd departed after scoring 42 runs off 40 deliveries, smashing nine boundaries. Soon, Ackermann fell prey to another run-out in the 18th over as the Netherlands lost their third wicket. Dutch skipper Scott Edwards followed Ackermann back to the pavilion, being run-out on the very next ball.

Bas de Leede, Saqib Zulfiqar and Logan van Beek failed to move the scoreboard much, before Sybrand Engelbrecht completed his second ODI half-century. However, he couldn’t convert his fifty into a big score before being run out in the 35th over.

Interestingly, this was the first time that four of a team’s top-five batters were run out in the history of ODI cricket.

Roelof van der Merwe and Aryan Dutt tried to provide the Netherlands with a final flourish before they were bundled for 179 runs in 45.3 overs. Mohammad Nabi was the pick of the Afghan bowled, claiming three wickets while teenage spinner Noor Ahmad chipped in with two wickets.

Afghanistan lost the wicket of hard-hitting Rahmanullah Gurbaz early in their 180-run chase. Ibrahim Zadran was dismissed after scoring 20 runs off 34 balls by Van der Merwe to reduce Afghanistan to 55 for 2 in 10.1 overs.

RAHMAT SHAH CONTINUES TO FIRE

However, Rahmat Shah and skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi formed yet another crucial partnership to take the game away from the Netherlands. Rahmat went on to smash his third consecutive half-century in the ongoing World Cup before being dismissed by Zulfiqar in the 23rd over.

Rahmat departed after scoring 52 runs off 54 balls, hitting eight boundaries. Following his dismissal, Shahidi completed his 19th ODI half-century, while Omarzai chipped in with an unbeaten 31 as Afghanistan chased down the 180-run target with 7 wickets and 18.3 overs remaining.

Following their win over the Netherlands, Afghanistan will turn their attention towards 5-time champions Australia, with the two sides set to clash at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday, November 7.