Imran Khan congratulates Afghanistan for their maiden Test win

Keeping aside the political tension with Afghanistan, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has congratulated the country after it registered its maiden Test victory on Monday. Afghanistan, who were awarded Test status in 2017, beat Ireland by seven wickets to create history. The win came in just their second ever Test. Apart from Australia, who won in their maiden Test, only England and Pakistan have secured a Test win within two matches.

Barring a few hiccups, Afghanistan thoroughly dominated the contest against Ireland who too were playing just their second Test. In the first innings, Afghanistan bowled out Ireland for just 172. In reply, the fifties from Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi and Asghar Afghan helped the team post 314. Ireland did well in the second innings but could only set a  147-run target after being bowled out for 288.

Afghanistan had started the chase on a poor note, losing Mohammad Shahzad early. However, Ihsanullah Janat and Rahmat Shah added 139 runs for the second wicket to all but put the game to the bed. Ireland managed to dismiss Rahmat and Mohammad Nabi before Shahidi sealed the historic win with a four.

Ever since the game ended, the entire cricketing world is busy congratulating Afghanistan for the massive achievement. And Imran Khan has also not remained far behind. The former Pakistan skipper took to Twitter to mention how incredible the achievement is as he wrote:

“Congratulations to Afghanistan on their team’s first ever win in test cricket. The Afghan cricketers have achieved amazing successes in such a short period of their exposure to international cricket.”

Congratulations to Afghanistan on their team's first ever win in test cricket. The Afghan cricketers have achieved amazing successes in such a short period of their exposure to international cricket.

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) March 18, 2019

Tense political relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan

The political relation between Pakistan and Afghanistan, meanwhile, has taken a toll on the cricketing ties. The relation deteriorated in the wake of the bomb attack in Kabul in 2017 which had killed 90 people and injured nearly 500 more. Later, the  Afghanistan Cricket Board had reacted by cancelling friendly matches with Pakistan. The cricket board had also blamed Pakistan for the attack, saying no agreement could be “valid in a country where terrorists are housed and provided safe havens”.

[interaction id=”5c8fbad3f115e05639e10d91″]

Get the latest Cricket News and updates from Indian Premier League, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.