World Cup 2023: What Afghanistan's commanding victory over Pakistan means for the war-torn nation

Pakistan has a special place in Afghan cricket and has played a role in the sport’s rise in the nation, whether directly or not.

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The first Afghan cricketers, after all, were residents of refugee camps in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province close to the international border where they got introduced to what is the most popular sport in South Asia.

Those Afghan cricketers developed their skills by participating in Pakistani domestic and regional tournaments, before introducing it back home, where it would eventually spread like wildfire. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) was formed in 1995, and though it was initially banned by the Taliban along with a number of other sports, it would gain their approval in the year 2000.

Later in 2012, Afghanistan faced off Pakistan in a one-off ODI in Sharjah in what was their first meeting with a Full Member of the ICC, marking the beginning of their steady rise at the highest level of the sport.

Though Pakistan share a celebrated rivalry with India, in cricket in particular and across a variety of sports in general, one cannot help but notice the growing intensity of their matches against the Afghans in recent years.

Read | Afghanistan ace the art of chasing in historic victory over Pakistan

Indo-Pak contests, after all, have become as much a bonding session between the two sets of players who occasionally meet in ICC and ACC events as they are cricketing affairs.

Afghan-Pakistani matches, on the other hand, witness the kind of intensity and fierceness that has been characteristic of the Indo-Pak and Ashes rivalries, with a number of contests witnessing flare-ups both on the field as well as off it.

It’s a different thing however, that Pakistan has been on the winning side more often than not, having won all seven ODI meetings against Afghanistan in the build-up to Monday’s World Cup clash in Chennai. That included a 3-0 sweep of the Afghans in Sri Lanka in August ahead of the Asia Cup.

Afghanistan’s commanding victory at the MA Chidambaram Stadium helped them end their winless run against their neighbours and collect a second World Cup triumph against a celebrated opposition in a little over a week. Additionally, the eight-wicket win against Pakistan might just have eclipsed their 69-run win against England last Sunday as their greatest cricketing triumph to date.

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The aforementioned cricketing history between the two nations as well as the celebrations back home in Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan would serve as evidence to that fact.

Rare public joy sweeps Kabul

Fireworks and celebratory gunfire raked Kabul’s skies as Afghans celebrated their stunning eight-wicket cricket World Cup defeat of Pakistan, a rare burst of public jubilation since the Taliban takeover.

Hundreds of fans swarmed the streets of the capital late Monday, joining a morass of honking car traffic which wardens struggled to tame.

Ecstatic passengers hung off car doors as pedestrians danced and played music despite an effective ban on song and dance dictated by the Taliban government.

“Afghanistan has been through so much recently, such moments are always special and must be celebrated properly,” said Kabul resident Sharifullah, who goes by one name.

“It feels like we have won the World Cup,” the 25-year-old told news agency AFP. “Sport always brings unity among the people. Today we are celebrating the victory as a nation.”

Afghan Cricket Fans, celebrating historic win against Pakistan right in front of Afghanistan Cricket Board.#Kabul #Afghanistan @ICC | #CWC | #AfgvsPak pic.twitter.com/OZtvDWs7Mo

— Sayed Naseem Sadaat (د افغانستان کرکټ بورډ ویاند) (@SNaseemSadaat) October 23, 2023

Afghans have been glued to screens of all sizes in recent days — from mobile phones, to restaurant TVs and a small number of big screens broadcasting in public parks.

‘Today was the day’

Afghanistan and Pakistan have had fractious relations since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, with Islamabad claiming Kabul is failing to rein in militants plotting strikes on its soil.

Authorities recently pledged to evict 1.7 million undocumented Afghan migrants who have crossed into the country over the past several decades during successive conflicts.

Opening batsmen Ibrahim Zadran, with 87, was awarded player of the match and dedicated the win to “people who are sent from Pakistan back home to Afghanistan”.

“We had never witnessed such an amazing performance,” said 23-year-old Taliban government employee Noor Ahmad.

“Tonight Afghanistan’s people are enjoying it, and Pakistan’s people are crying.

“We want to celebrate all night. We are going to live and enjoy the moment till morning,” he said.

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Afghanistan’s win was hailed by the Taliban government, which has enforced an austere imagining of Islam squeezing women out of public life and effectively barring their participation in sports.

“We congratulate the national cricket team, cricket board, and all Afghans on this victory,” said Maulawi Abdul Kabir, political deputy of the prime minister’s office.

“This competition showed that Afghan youths are capable in any field and can win. We wish them more success.”

Many members of the Afghan women’s cricket team fled the nation as the Taliban swept back to power.

This month players who settled in Australia told AFP they had been threatened for taking part in activities which brought “dishonour” to their faith, country or families.

There is still debate over whether Afghanistan should lose its International Cricket Council membership for cutting women out of the game, a move which would effectively ban their men from playing international matches.

But for 30-year-old Hamidullah, Monday night’s win offered an uncomplicated moment of joy.

“We thank our national team from the bottom of our heart for this victory,” he said. “We waited forever to win against Pakistan, and finally, today was the day.”

With inputs from AFP