- Noor Ahmad’s debut: 3 wickets for Afghanistan.
- Replacing Farooqi, Noor impressed in spinning conditions.
- Afghanistan chasing 283, eyeing an upset.
In a thrilling Cricket World Cup match against Pakistan on Monday, Afghanistan’s left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad created a World Cup record for his side by taking three wickets for 49 runs on debut. This beat Shapoor Zardan’s 2-20 against Bangladesh in the 2015 World Cup.
The 18-year-old Noor was brought into the squad in place of the speedster Fazalhaq Farooqi as Afghanistan wanted to adjust to the spinning conditions of Chennai. He certainly didn’t disappoint, taking the important wickets of Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, and Babar Azam.
Pakistan had lost wickets in quick succession and were 120-3 in 24.4 overs, but Babar’s resilience took the Green Shirts to a fighting total of 283. Iftikhar Ahmed also played a rapid knock, scoring 40 off 27 deliveries with two fours and four sixes.
At the time of writing, Afghanistan was batting at 34-0 in 6 overs with openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz (8*) and Ibrahim Zardan (26*) on the crease.
If Afghanistan can chase down this target, it would be a major upset and a huge boost for their World Cup campaign. But even if they fall short, Noor Ahmad’s performance on debut has been a bright spot for the team.
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