"When the 2nd innings started, I thought Pakistan would win" - Aakash Chopra criticizes Men in Green's bowling in World Cup 2023 loss to Afghanistan

Aakash Chopra has criticized Pakistan's bowling for their inability to defend a seemingly winning total in their World Cup 2023 clash against Afghanistan.

The Men in Green set Afghanistan a challenging 283-run target on a slightly spin-friendly Chepauk surface in Chennai on Monday, October 23. Hashmatullah Shahidi and company chased down the score with eight wickets and an over to spare to hand Pakistan their third consecutive defeat.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra acknowledged that he didn't think Afghanistan would chase down the target. He said (4:15):

"I will be honest, when the second innings started, I thought Pakistan would win but Rahmanullah Gurbaz - subhanallah Gurbaz, and Ibrahim Zadran was there alongside him. He also batted well and they had an opening partnership of more than 100."

The former India opener praised Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, and Hashmatullah Shahidi for making the run chase seem like a walk in the park. He elaborated:

"The three fours in an over from Haris Rauf through the off-side, four in total, were sumptuous. We spoke about Abdullah Shafique, and Ibrahim Zadran also plays like that. This kid is a classy player. When the openers got out, Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi, and the job was finished."

Gurbaz (65 off 53) and Zadran (87 off 113) strung together a 130-run opening-wicket partnership to lay the foundation of Afghanistan's run chase. Shah (77* off 84) and Shahidi (48* off 45) then added 96 runs for the third wicket to ensure that their side registered their first ODI win against Pakistan.

---

"Pakistan's weakness came to the fore" - Aakash Chopra on their bowling

The Pakistan spinners failed to pick up a wicket on a spin-friendly track. [P/C: AP]

On the flip side, Aakash Chopra was disappointed with Pakistan's bowling performance. He stated (3:30):

"Pakistan's weakness came to the fore, which is basically the bowling. With due respect, they are not bowling well. The English language has taught us that whichever sentence is started with 'with due respect', it means less respect is being given."

Chopra added that Afghanistan were not favored to chase down a target on a spin-friendly surface. He explained:

"Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran are two batters whose numbers are good in the first innings but they don't score runs when they chase. We were assuming that Afghanistan had a greater chance of winning if they set a target on a turning and slowish pitch. We thought they would get stuck if they are asked to chase."

Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hasan Ali were the only Pakistan bowlers to pick up a wicket. Their spinners proved ineffective, with Usama Mir, Shadab Khan, and Iftikhar Ahmed conceding 131 runs in the 21 overs they bowled between them.