Afghanistan have put fear in the minds of other teams: Misbah-ul-Haq after PAK vs AFG 2023 World Cup match

Former Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq heaped praise on Afghanistan after the latter pulled off a memorable eight-wicket win over Pakistan in the 2023 World Cup match in Chennai on Monday, October 23.

It seemed like the target of 283 would be a bit too stiff for the Afghans. However, that wasn't to be as Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran scored 65 & 87 respectively, also adding a staggering 130 runs for the opening partnership.

Rahmat Shah's 77* and captain Hashmatullah Shahidi with 47* ensured that they became the first team to chase a total in excess of 274 against Pakistan in the history of World Cups.

Speaking to A Sports after the game, here's what Misbah-ul-Haq had to say about Afghanistan:

"They have now put fear in the mind of other teams with their X factor. The way Afghanistan beat England and now Pakistan, they have built the pressure on teams who play them next. They would definitely want to capitalise on that, brimming with confidence."

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Afghanistan have a good chance of playing semifinals: Misbah-ul-Haq

Misbah-ul-Haq feels the Afghans will be high on confidence after the wins against Pakistan and England and will be in with a chance to play in the semifinals if they can continue the momentum.

On this, he stated:

"I think the kind of cricket they are playing and with such confidence, they are right in saying that they are not here to win one game and have come here with the aim of qualifying for the knockout stage (semifinals). It's a good chance for them if they continue to play good cricket."

While Shahidi and Co. will be brimming with confidence, Babar Azam and his men have faced their third successive defeat of this World Cup. They will face the Proteas on October 27 and it could potentially be a virtual knockout for Pakistan.