‘Kohli-level chase’: Internet reacts as Afghanistan stun Pakistan by 8 wickets in ODI World Cup match

Afghanistan's dominant win over Pakistan in the 2023 ODI World Cup match evoked a spree of reactions on the internet, with fans hailing the “underdog” Afghan side for outclassing the former world champions.

A section of fans drew comparisons between Afghanistan's chase of 283 runs with the kind of batting which the Indian team has demonstrated in the World Cup so far. “This is a Kohli-level run chase”, commented a fan, referring to the in-form Indian batter Virat Kohli.

Notably, Afghanistan won the match by 8 wickets. Put to bowl first, the team conceded 282 runs against Pakistan, which was considered to be enough on the Chepauk track which was seen to be assisting the spinners. However, the Afghan batters ended up comfortably chasing the target in the 49th over.

The tone for the run-chase was set by Rahmanullah Gurbaz (65) and Ibrahim Zadran (87), who shared a 130-run opening partnership. The latter was awarded as the player of the match. 

“Mark my words this Afghanistan team will go a long way by the next world cup and I wont be surprised if they win a few more in this world cup as well! Havent seen this kind of talent in a long time as each of them are in their early 20's! (sic),” former Indian skipper Kris Srikanth posted on social media platform X.

Here are some of the prominent reactions:

‘Kohliesque-level chase’

‘Can’t be taken for granted'

Pakistani skipper Babar Azam draws flak

Pakistan's ‘poor fielding’ called out

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan, while commenting on the match, said, “Clearly a better team won today. Well done Afghanistan for stunning victory against Pakistan.” Pathan also claimed that the “captaincy of Babar Azam has been very average”, adding that he let the game drift away from them.