It is well documented that Chennai and the Pakistan cricket team share a special affinity. Monday’s match between Babar Azam’s side and the Chepauk audience, who are renowned for their appreciation of quality cricket, lived up to their reputation. Afghanistan may have become their new favorite team by the end of the day.
Long after the match had concluded, the stands remained filled with fervent supporters rallying behind the Afghan team, whose Monday night victory may have sent shock vibrations throughout the cricketing globe. They vanquished favored and higher-ranked Pakistan in a result that will go down in history as a seismic upset.
The Afghan players promptly completed a victory lap to acknowledge the support of the thirty thousand supporters, many of whom were native Afghans who had traveled from around the globe. “You should know what is happening in Afghanistan,” said Noor Ahmad, the adolescent mystery spinner and one of the architects of Monday’s victory. “They are exploding fireworks.”
The Afghan victory, their first in eight ODIs against Pakistan, was nothing short of a miracle, as it was achieved by a ninth-ranked team against the world’s No. 2 team, and came just a week after their rout of the reigning world champions, England. Yes, Afghanistan has been impacted twice by lightning during the World Cup.
“Unbelievable! This is bigger than a World Cup for the Afghans. (It’s) simply our biggest victory in history yet,” said Norman Mirza, a cricket analyst from Afghanistan. “Congratulations on your big and historic victory. Long live Afghanistan,” said Ashraf Ghani, the country’s president in exile. “It is a victory for the whole nation,” said Raees Ahmadzai, the team’s assistant coach who had 500 messages on his phone. “The people are happy back home in the country, I can feel it. The whole nation is celebrating like one good happy moment.”
Ahmadzai claims that the nation as a whole feel wonderful because it has triumphed over Pakistan, its archrival. Although comparatively recent, the Afghanistan-Pakistan rivalry is profoundly rooted in historical and cultural ties that transcend cricket. Jonathan Trott, the head coach of Afghanistan, could not have been indifferent to the magnitude of the occasion and what it meant for his team to defeat Pakistan. “Well, yeah, it doesn’t take a lot to see the passion and the rivalry between them,” said the individual from England.
It is not surprising that Afghan supporters were joyful. Their dressing room at the Chepauk erupted in jubilant festivity, and even the typically reserved Rashid Khan could not contain himself from bursting into a dance. But Trott, an outsider, provided a rather objective and dispassionate assessment of what the outcome would imply for Afghanistan. “It (will) inspires another generation of players to pick up a cricket bat and a cricket ball, work on their fielding and their fitness.”
