Afghanistan showed that its World Cup victory against England was no fluke when it beat Pakistan by eight wickets in Chennai.
Noor Ahmed first took three wickets, after which Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz enjoyed an opening partnership of 130 runs to pull Afghanistan’s cricket wagon through the drift.
Needless to say, Jonathan Trott, Afghanistan’s South African-born coach, is very proud of his players.
The 42-year-old Cape Town native, who enjoyed a very successful international career with England, is particularly impressed with Zadran and Gurbaz’s batting.
“They are very talented players who have endless potential. I often remind them to grow and put their own unique stamp on the game. We have now seen what they are capable of and how much pressure they can put their opponents under,” said Trott.
He does not regard the victory as a shock either.
“If people say it’s a shake-up, they do a great disservice to the players in the dressing room.”
Afghanistan are currently above Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and England in the official World Cup standings.
- World Cup Standings:
- India: 10 points after five matches
- New Zealand: 8 points after five games
- South Africa: 6 points after four matches
- Australia: 4 points after four games
- Pakistan: 4 points after five matches
- Afghanistan: 4 points after five games
- Bangladesh: 2 points after four matches
- Netherlands: 2 points after four games
- Sri Lanka: 2 points after four matches
- England: 2 points after four games.
