Pakistan v Afghanistan, 2011-12

One-day international (1): Pakistan 1, Afghanistan 0

Two neighbours sharing cultural history and international exile met in Sharjah in February. For Pakistan, it was a warm-up for their one-day series against England; for Afghanistan, a more momentous occasion - their first 50-over international against an ICC Full Member, following 18 against Associates. Each side could claim Sharjah as their surrogate home, but there was little doubt it was the Afghan expats making up the majority of the 15,000 crowd who had flooded in after Friday prayers. They came bearing flags, horns, bagpipes and life-size posters of President Hamid Karzai, and their players initially responded with brio. But Pakistan proved too adept, too experienced and simply too good. The Taliban, who had long since tolerated men's cricket in Afghanistan, sent a message of support to the team on the morning of the game.

Match reports for

Only ODI: Afghanistan v Pakistan at Sharjah, Feb 10, 2012
Report | Scorecard