Everything Afghanistan • Ruthless Pakistan Outclass Brave Afghanistan

Ruthless Pakistan Outclass Brave Afghanistan

Pakistan 198-3 (Younus Khan 70no) beat
Afghanistan 195 (Shahid Afridi 5-36) by 7 wickets
One-Day International, Sharjah.

Thousands of Afghans took a break from the war Friday, glued to their television sets to watch their cricketers take on neighbouring Pakistan in a historic one-day international.

Newcomers Afghanistan, who have played just 18 one-day internationals against fellow low-ranking teams, are playing their first match against a top Test playing nation.

The game has a limited following in the capital Kabul but a strong fanbase in the south and east of the country, near the Pakistan border.

In the southern city of Kandahar, heartland of both Taliban insurgents and cricket lovers, shops closed as fans converged on any television screen they could find to watch the match, played in Sharjah.

“Hundreds of cricket fans have come to the Kandahar Olympic Committee office to watch this exciting game on the big screen,” said Sayed Sarwar Amani, head of the martial arts federation.

Many travelled from rural areas into the city to watch the match because they have no electricity at home, he said.

Most fans were young, in their 20s, he added — a reflection perhaps of the relative newness of the game in Afghanistan, brought to the country by Afghan refugees who learnt to play in refugee camps in Pakistan.

But as the security forces watched the game, some of their enemies among the Taliban were following it too.

“I am personally a fan of cricket, I will follow this match closely,” Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told AFP ahead of the match.

Truck drivers also took a break, pulling up at the Spin Boldak transport department offices near a border crossing into Pakistan to watch the game, said Mohammad Khalil, who works for the department.

“About 12 drivers who are exporting dried fruits to Pakistan stopped their trucks on the way and they are watching the game of cricket,” he said.

“They say once the game finishes they will go to Pakistan.”

Friday’s contest is fitting because most of the Afghan players learnt the game in Pakistan after fleeing the Soviet invasion of their country in 1979.

Afghanistan gained a notable foot up on the world cricket stage by finishing fifth in the 2011 World Cup qualifiers which earned them the right to play one-day internationals.

Loosing and Winning is a part Of Game- Afghanistan is playing Cricket Since few years but the Way Our team is Playing and played makes us proud. After 30years of War we got our national Cricket team-its a big success for us-In just few years our team made place in ICC! Pakistan is playing since Decades So they have much expirence than us-But We can’t Forget the Smashing and Magnificent Shots Of Afghans Crossing the boundry!

Source: google.com