Pakistan has kicked off their ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 journey in India, clashing with the Netherlands at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad.
While Pakistan faced a challenging battle against their Dutch rivals, they achieved a remarkable feat by participating in two different cricket matches in two different countries simultaneously.
In addition to their encounter with the Netherlands, Pakistan's other team, captained by Qasim Akram, was engaged in a T20I game against Afghanistan in the Asian Games Men's Cricket tournament in China.
This unprecedented occurrence makes Pakistan the first team in international cricket history to field two separate teams in two different countries, competing in two distinct tournaments. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and India are also partaking in the Asian Games 2023 in China with second-string squads.
While Afghanistan and Ireland previously held a unique record of playing two different games on the same day during the Desert T20 Challenge Cup 2017, where they participated in semi-finals and finals at the same venue, Pakistan has now surpassed this by participating in two separate international cricket matches simultaneously and in two different formats on the same day.
Afghanistan, after defeating Pakistan in the semi-finals of the Asian Games 2023 in China, is set to face India in the gold medal match on October 7.
Afghanistan secured their place in the final by defeating Pakistan by four wickets, chasing down Pakistan's total of 115 runs in just 17 overs.
In Hyderabad, Mohammad Rizwan (68) and Saud Shakeel (68) took Pakistan to an imposing total of 286. Pakistan's top-order struggled as Fakhar Zaman (12), Imam-ul-Haq (15), and captain Babar Azam (5) were dismissed early during the opening power-play. The Netherlands displayed excellent bowling in the initial overs, combining pace and spin to put Pakistan on the back foot.