When Afghanistan took on South Africa in their first-ever match in Karachi’s National Bank Stadium in the ICC Champions Trophy on Friday, it was more than a familiar surrounding for many of the Afghan players.

Whether it was veteran Afghan cricketer Mohammad Nabi or young up-and-coming batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz, this outing was far from their first in Karachi.

For the Afghan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi, known colloquially as ‘Mr President’, the connection to Karachi goes further back than most. He played in domestic cricket in Karachi for Pakistan Customs way back in 2008.

He brought all that experience to the mix, taking a wicket off the very first ball of his spell, sending the Afghanistan fans in the stands into a frenzy.

He then returned for a second spell and took a wicket in his first over, nearly replicating his earlier feat of getting a wicket off his first ball, only for that leg before wicket decision to be reversed.

Fans showed up in significant numbers to watch the Afghan Atalan and although the match was a one-sided affair with South Africa winning, they stuck to the end to catch a glimpse of their favourite players in person.

They stuck around and cheered even as the match turned in South Africa’s favour and an ever-present black cat, referred to as Ambassador sahib in the press box, prowled the grounds to get a chance to see the cricket action up close.

Ambassador sahib, just like the Afghan players, is a familiar sight at the National Stadium, even showing up for the inauguration ceremony for the stadium after its renovation earlier in the month.

The spectators did end up getting their faith rewarded, albeit momentarily as Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan treated them to a few fireworks by sending the ball over and to the boundary multiple times in his quick-fire 18 of 13, including three boundaries and a six.

Although just a fleeting moment in the overall context of the match — as soon as Rashid hit his first boundary by slapping the ball off the back foot towards the covers — the dejected Afghan supporters roared back into life.

Rashid who apart from being a global superstar in T20s in particular, is also a regular for the Lahore Qalandars franchise, tried his best to entertain fans who had travelled far and wide to see him in action.

Local Karachi legend Younis Khan was also part of the Afghan dressing room as the mentor for the Afghan cricket team.

As fans cheered in the Younis Khan enclosure for the teams they were supporting, one could not help but reminisce about the triple hundred that Younis had scored on this very ground back in 2009 in a Test against Sri Lanka.

Afghanistan needed a similar knock today from one of their main batters, but it was not meant to be as the South African fast bowlers ran through their batting lineup under helpful conditions — notwithstanding an excellent 90 by Afghanistan’s Rahmat Shah.

Inamullah, an Afghanistan supporter talking about the match, acknowledged the decent efforts by South Africa in the match and also commended Nabi and Rashid’s performance with the ball and in the field respectively.

Some fans also spoke about the inconvenience they faced while getting through security but that paled in comparison with the joy they experienced watching their favourite players play in front of them.

One fan talked about how he had travelled from Waziristan just to see the Afghanistan players play and was over the moon seeing them play in person.

Afghanistan’s wicket-keeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz thanked the supporters after the match and when asked if it felt like playing at home, said: “We got that feeling, I think the ground was almost full, and we don’t play in Afghanistan at home in an international game, but at the same time, that was a good feeling, which we got.

“Most of the time we play in Dubai as a home side, but this was so good, and I hope the time comes soon to play in Afghanistan as well. That will be a nice feeling.”

Header image: Afghanistan’s fans hold a poster as they arrive to watch the ICC Champions Trophy one-day international cricket match between Afghanistan and South Africa at the National Stadium in Karachi on February 21. — AFP