Afghanistan claimed their first World Cup win with a one-wicket win over Scotland with three balls to spare.
by Stephan Shemilt, BBC Sport
Chasing 211, Afghanistan were reduced to 97-7 but Samiullah Shenwari’s 96 gave them hope.
He was caught on the boundary with 19 still required, but last man Shapoor Zadran hit the third ball of the final over for four to seal victory.
For Scotland, who had earlier recovered from 144-8 to make 210, it was an 11th loss in their first 11 World Cup games.
It was the second thrilling match between two non-Test playing sides in as many days following Ireland’s two-wicket win over the UAE on Wednesday.
Scotland will reflect on a missed opportunity to record their first World Cup win but, in a match of regularly fluctuating fortunes, both teams threw away various positions of strength.
Ultimately, it was the efforts of Shenwari and the nerve of last-wicket pair Shapoor and Hamid Hassan that earned a historic win for Afghanistan, a nation that was still competing in the bottom tier of the International Cricket Council’s world league in 2008.
After the Afghans had suffered a middle-order collapse of five wickets for 12 runs, Shenwari painstakingly rebuilt, before opening his shoulders to make an unlikely run-chase seem possible.
With 38 required from the final four overs, Shenwari three times heaved Majid Haq for six over the leg side, only to be caught on the boundary looking for the fourth that would have taken him to a century.
That left Afghanistan still 19 short, but Shapoor and Hassan inched nearer and, when Richie Berrington’s final ball of the 49th over was clipped for four, only five were needed from the last six deliveries.
Shapoor could have been run out had Matt Machan’s throw hit the stumps but, from the next delivery, the left-hander clipped to the square-leg boundary to seal a historic win.
