Afghans' rise to international cricket

At Sharjah, an ordinary but extremely significant One dayer between a Test team and a novice was held.. yes the first match for Afghanistan at a neutral zone of Sharjah, which has hosted many Internationals from the mid 1980s when Pakistan regularly played  India, turned out to be a milestone.  As expected Afghanistan was brushed aside by the strong Pakistan by 7 wickets – still it was a dream moment coming alive for them.  Afghanistan, playing their first ever one day international  against Pakistan, put up an spirited performance justifying their sharp rise in international cricket.

Batting first, Afghanistan were bowled out for 195 in 48.3 overs thanks to Afridi's excellent bowling figures of 5 for 36. Chasing a modest total, Younis Khan (70 off 65 balls) and Farhat (52)  steered Pakistan to victory in 37.1 overs.

One could be never sure of whether the two Nations have a love or hate relationship on the political front, but the camaraderie  at the cricket field is expected to be very high. For a Nation torn by war and mindless violence, a recognition in a game should come as a fresh green offering.   Afghanistan had everything to gain from this encounter,  for Pakistanis it is just another match where one of their top man could go slam bang.   Hamid Hassan the fast bowler of Afghan was ruled out with a knee injury.    Pakistan have played more than 100 games (109) at Sharjah and have won 75 of them, so the desert proved to be a very happy hunting ground for them.