( CNN ) Afghanistan achieved an historic victory Thursday as it beat Scotland to win its first ever cricket World Cup match . Appearing at the tournament for the first time , the war-torn country beat the Scots by one wicket with just three balls to spare -- sparking jubilant celebrations back home . Afghan batter Samiullah Shenwari saved his team from the clutches of defeat , scoring 96 runs to set up a nail-biting finale . `` The pressure was extreme again but Shenwari batted brilliantly '' team captain Mohammad Nabi was reported to the have said by the International Cricket Council . `` It 's good to put two points on the board . This is our first win in the World Cup and everyone will enjoy this . '' Fans poured into the street waving flags , beating drums and dancing in celebration of their country 's maiden triumph . Afghanistan 's President Ashraf Ghani took to Twitter to express his pride at the team 's achievement . The team will now face 2007 ICC World Cup winner Australia and 2010 ICC World Twenty20 champions England in the final pool stages -- and will have to cause a giant upset to get to the quarterfinals . The win marked Scotland 's 11th consecutive defeat across three World Cups , with captain Preston Mommsen saying : `` It 's never easy losing a game , but it 's a particularly difficult one for us . We had them seven down and disappointed we could n't finish them off . ''
Afghanistan beat Scotland to win their first ever World Cup match . The game was played in the city of Kabul and saw a crowd of more than 50,000 people watch England lose by just one goal after extra time had been played. Afghanistan 's President Ashraf Ghani praised them on twitter .