Batsman Samiullah Shenwari struck a brilliant 96-run knock to steer Afghanistan to their first World Cup win by defeating a battling Scotland by one wicket in their pulsating group stage thriller at Dunedin.
Put in to bat first, Scotland set a modest target of 210 as no substantial partnership could be forged by their batsmen, with Matt Machan and Majid Haq being the highest scorers for the team with their individual knock of 31 runs each.
Kyle Coetzer (25), skipper Preston Mommsen (23), Richie Berrington (25) and Alasdair Evans (28) failed to convert starts into something substantial.
Shapoor Zadran was the pick of the bowlers for Afghanistan as he claimed four crucial wickets, with Dawlat Zadran's three scalps supporting him significantly.
Chasing the target, opener Javed Ahmadi provided the initial thrust by playing a knock of 51 runs before the team saw themselves reeling at 97-7 in the 24th over.
Subsequently, Shenwari and Hamid Hassan (15*) produced a crucial 60-run partnership for the ninth wicket to guide the team nearer to the target.
However, Shenwari, who has been declared as the Man-of-the-Match, fell prey to a Haq's delivery while attempting to hit his fourth consecutive six in the over.
Mohammad Nabi's men were left needing 19 runs off 19 balls in the 47th over as Zadran (12*) and Hassan guided their team to make history in the sport and earn two points in Pool A table.
