After an incredible eight-wicket victory over Pakistan at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023, Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott gushed over his team. After their impressive win over Pakistan, Trott says their two openers have a special talent and the sky is the limit.

Batting first, Pakistan made 282 runs. Abdullah Shafique and Babar Azam scored half-centuries. In response, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran laid the foundation for victory. They gave Afghanistan 130 runs in the opening pair. Gurbaz was out for 65 off 53 balls Then Ibrahim made a partnership of 60 runs with Rahmat Shah. Ibrahim stopped at 87 runs. He scored this run off 113 balls.

Then Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi made an unbeaten partnership of 96 runs. As a result, Afghanistan won by eight wickets. Ibrahim was selected as the best player of the match. Ibrahim and Gurbaz's pair of 130 runs was the turning point of the match, says Afghanistan's head coach Trott.

“The turning point for me was the start that Ibrahim and Gurbaz gave us – I think that’s always good when you're chasing a total like that You need a good start, there's less pressure on the players coming in. And it makes their job easier,” Trott said.

Trott was impressed by the two openers Ibrahim and Gurbaz. He showered them with praise. Trott believes that these two openers will do something big.

“I think the two opening batters that we have are very, very exceptionally talented young players and the sky's the limit for both of them in different ways. They're different types of players and my message to them is just keep growing your own game and play your own way. Have a look at what the team needs you to do and try and play accordingly within your own game plan. And we saw that tonight,” Trott added.

“We saw how well they can play and how much pressure they can put on opposition bowlers, world-class bowlers as well. I thought that the calmness, certainly when the spin came on, there were some balls that spun. I thought they held their shape really well and you know always looked in control which is one of the most important things as a batsman to be able to do and send a calming message back to the change room.”