Police have launched an investigation after unprecedented crowd trouble at the World Cup match between Pakistan and Afghanistan at Headingley, during which a number of arrests were made.

West Yorkshire Police said they received reports of people climbing over a wall, assaulting staff on a gate and a fan going on to the pitch at Saturday's game in Leeds.

Videos shared on social media show a fight between fans outside the ground, with a metal barrier being brandished and kicks, punches and shouting.

Police said mobile phone footage showed people being assaulted, and appealed for anyone who was a victim or witness of an attack, or who has original footage of the incidents, to contact them.

Superintendent Chris Bowen said police in Leeds recognised the need for a "full and comprehensive criminal investigation".

"While these were isolated incidents, involving a relative minority of people attending the event, the scenes that were witnessed were completely unprecedented at a cricket match," he said.

"While we did not receive any direct reports of people being injured, the footage that is out there clearly shows people being assaulted during these incidents," he added.

Bowen said crowd trouble at cricket was relatively unheard of and the match had been assessed as low risk, with no need for a police presence.

He said policing arrangements had now been reviewed and there would be an enhanced police presence and stewarding for matches at Headingley this week.

The International Cricket Council said it would not tolerate anti-social behaviour.

Feature image courtesy: AFP Photo/ Lindsey Parnaby

Afghanistan skipper Gulbadin Naib defended his disastrous decision to bring himself on to bowl towards the end of a gripping match against Pakistan on Saturday �?a move that cost 18 runs in a single over.

Pakistan edged home by three wickets with two balls to spare at Headingley but the contest turned in the 46th over, bowled by Naib.

Spinners Mohammad Nabi (2-23), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2-34) and Rashid Khan (1-50) had restricted Pakistan, who desperately needed to win to keep up their push for a semi-final place.

Pakistan, with four wickets in hand, needed 46 runs from 30 balls to win the match at the end of the 45th over but the complexion of the game was completely changed after man-of-the-match Imad Wasim smashed three fours and scrambled some more runs. Naib also bowled a wide.

Suddenly Pakistan needed just 28 runs from 24 balls and held their nerve to edge home.

Seamer Naib, who conceded 73 runs in 9.4 wicketless overs, said a hamstring injury to paceman Hamid Hassan after he had bowled just two overs was the turning point in the match.

"We had the feeling they weren't targeting every bowler," said Naib, who was controversially appointed captain in place of the successful Asghar Afghan two months before the World Cup.

"Every team has their plans and I thought the crucial point is for the 46th over that I bowled and 18 runs, it's not really good."

"If Hamid was there maybe I didn't bowl more than three or four overs because I do not have enough speed for this kind of surface," he added.

But Naib gave credit to Pakistan.

"I think the pressure was on the Pakistan side. But credit goes to them, how they played and how they finished the game," he said.

Afghanistan, who have lost all eight of their World Cup matches, play West Indies in their final match at Headingley on July 4.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter/ @cricketworldcup

Police were forced to intervene as violent clashes between rival supporters marred the World Cup match between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Leeds on Saturday.

Political relations between the south Asian neighbours have been marked by years of distrust and blame.

The ugly scenes at Headingley were sparked by the flying of a banner over the ground reading: "Justice for Balochistan."

Balochistan, Pakistan's largest and poorest province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, is rife with Islamist, separatist and sectarian insurgencies. 

Plane over the stadium carrying "Justice for Balochistan" and outside the stadium Afghani fans beating pakistani fans already made Afghanistan as a winner

International community should notice the barbarism of Pakistan in Balochistan.#AfghanAtalan #PAKvsAFG #WorldCup2019 pic.twitter.com/IQY038zV0v

�?Vikas Thakur (@Raghuvanshi_VKS) June 29, 2019

The Pakistani military has been waging war on militants there since 2004, and security forces are frequently targeted.

Eyewitnesses told AFP there were clashes in the stands at the start of the match, which spread outside the ground until security officers intervened.

"Thanks to the intervention from security personnel the situation did not go out of control," said Ahmed Zai, who is from the Pakistani city of Peshawar, but lives in nearby Bradford.

A Pakistani journalist was also attacked by the crowd, stopping him from shooting video.

Afghanistan fans beating a supporter of Pakistan cricket team outside the cricket stadium in Leeds.
#PAKvAFG #CWC19
Via: Azhar Javed pic.twitter.com/ZTlGNW5Tz5

�?Danyal Gilani (@DanyalGilani) June 29, 2019

A statement from West Yorkshire police said: "At 11:55 am today (1055 GMT) police received reports of some trouble outside the ground linked to people trying to get in. Officers attended to disperse the group without any issues and remained on patrol in the area."

The International Cricket Council said in a statement: "We are aware of some scuffles among a minority of fans and are currently working with the venue security team and the local police force, West Yorkshire Police, to ensure there are no further incidents."

It added: "We do not condone any sort of political messages at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup and will work with West Yorkshire police to deal with and understand why this has happened and to ensure it does not happen again."

The 17,000-capacity stadium was packed for the match, with Pakistan fans outnumbering Afghanistan supporters.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter / CricketWorldCup

Afghanistan vs Pakistan is perhaps the World Cup match that cricket fans in the war-weary nation will be watching most intensely.

It is a complicated relationship. Many Afghanistan players learned the game growing up as refugees in Pakistan but lots of Afghans also accuse their powerful neighbour of supporting Taliban militants.

With years of distrust and blame between the two countries, a high-stakes victory over Pakistan in the sport it loves best on Saturday would taste especially sweet to Afghans.

There is also intrigue on the pitch at Headingley, in the northern English city of Leeds.

Pakistan cannot afford any more slip-ups, needing to win their final two matches to retain a realistic chance of reaching the semi-finals after a slow start to the tournament.

Afghanistan, appearing in just their second World Cup since their debut in 2015, are playing for pride after losing all seven of their matches so far.

Afghanistan captain Gulbadin Naib played down the political tensions between the two nations at his pre-match press conference on Friday, saying he hoped cricket could build bridges.

"If you look at our cricket, we learnt a lot of cricket in Pakistan and we also played cricket in Pakistan," Naib said.

"We are also hoping cricket is one thing that can keep a good relationship for anyone, any other country. So I am hoping that not only with Pakistan, but with India, Sri Lanka and other countries."

Cricket became popular in Afghanistan after the Soviet invasion of 1979, with young people learning the sport in refugee camps on the Pakistan border.

All-rounder Mohammad Nabi and leg-spinner Rashid Khan started playing the game in Peshawar while the Pakistan Cricket Board helped Afghanistan cricket by providing equipment and playing opportunities.

Two former Pakistan internationals �?Kabir Khan and Rashid Latif �?have played key roles in the development of Afghanistan as coaches over the past decade.

But the lingering tensions mean that Afghan players are reluctant to draw attention to their association with Pakistan and often show more of an affiliation with Pakistan's arch-rivals, India.

On the pitch, Afghanistan beat their formidable rivals in a pre-World Cup warm-up match, but they have lost all three official one-day internationals between the two sides.

Despite this winning record, Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed warned his players not to take Afghanistan lightly.

"We know they have quality spinners in their team," said Sarfaraz, referring to Rashid, Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman. "We can't take them lightly because a team such as Afghanistan can be dangerous."

"We have staged a comeback with a strong belief that we can win and then our way to the semi-final is paved, but at the moment we have only Saturday's game on our minds," he added.

Pakistan's last match of the round-robin phase is against Bangladesh, which could turn into another virtual quarter-final at Lord's on July 5 as they target the semi-finals and dream of a second World Cup triumph. Afghanistan's sights are set lower but they have a long-term dream.

Naib said he hoped playing at tournaments such as the World Cup would boost the standard of the game in Afghanistan.

"We want more matches to build our cricket so it's really good for us to play a lot of cricket with them (major nations)," said the Afghan skipper.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter/ @cricketworldcup

Pakistan kept their nerve to avoid a huge shock on Saturday, beating a spirited Afghan side by three wickets with just two balls to spare to keep their World Cup semi-final hopes alive.

All-rounder Imad Wasim hit Afghanistan skipper Gulbadin Naib for a boundary through the covers to seal the win off the fourth ball of the last over, prompting chaotic scenes as fans poured onto the Headingley pitch.

Pakistan, chasing a modest 228-run target, were in grave danger at 156 for six in the 39th over.

But man-of-the-match Imad (49 not out) and Shadab Khan (11) put on 50 for the seventh wicket to revive their hopes.

A third consecutive victory lifts Pakistan into fourth place in the 10-team table, above hosts England, with the top four qualifying for the semi-finals.

If they win their final game against Bangladesh and England fail to win both of their last two matches, against India and New Zealand, Pakistan are almost certain to progress.

"Thank you all the fans, they cheered every ball. It is a great win for us on not an easy pitch," said Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed.

"We all know that it is not easy to win our last four games," he said. "We go match by match. We will all be watching India v England tomorrow."

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, a World Cup-winning captain in his cricket days, tweeted his congratulations to the team for "keeping their nerve under pressure".

- Pressure -

Pakistan were in deep trouble when Sarfaraz was run out for 18 while taking a unnecessary second run, leaving Pakistan needing 72 off the last eleven overs.

They took 18 off Naib in the 46th over, which brought the target down to a manageable 28 off four overs.

Shadhab was run out for 11 with the score on 206 but Wahab Riaz (15 not out) and Imad saw Pakistan home and condemned plucky Afghanistan to an eighth consecutive defeat.

"When I went in they were bowling brilliantly but I just hung in there," said Imad. "We wanted to bat out the 50 overs and see.

"Gulbadin (Naib) was the only one who could be targeted. They have world-class spinners so we attacked him. Thank you to the crowd, it feels like home here. They gave us a boost in confidence."

Off-spinner Mohammad Nabi (2-23) had brought Afghanistan right into the game with the wickets of Imam-ul-Haq (36) and Babar Azam (45) in successive overs.

Haris Sohail laboured to 27 off 57 balls before he was lbw to leg-spinner Rashid Khan but Pakistan ultimately had enough batting firepower to see them over the line.

Earlier, lanky Afghan paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi shone with the ball, returning figures of 4-47 to add to the three wickets he took against New Zealand.

"We fight really well, the boys gave 100 percent but in the end we missed an opportunity to win the match," said Afghanistan captain Naib.

"Credit to Pakistan, they controlled their nerves.

"We missed again. You can face a lot of these situations, we are working harder and harder. The matches we have lost, we have improved."

The start of the game was marred by clashes between rival fans, with police forced to intervene. Political relations between the south Asian neighbours have been marked by years of distrust and blame.

And after the match, jubilant supporters swarmed onto the pitch.

An International Cricket Council spokesman said it was working with security officials and the police "to ensure there are no further incidents".

Feature image courtesy: Twitter / CricketWorldCup

Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed hailed his side's three-wicket victory over Afghanistan at the Cricket World Cup as "a great win" despite a nervy finish on a dramatic day at Headingley.

Imad Wasim's unbeaten 49 made sure Pakistan moved into the top four of the table after falling to 156-6 when chasing a modest total of 228.

Fans then spilled onto the pitch in chaotic scenes after the winning runs were struck.

There were also ugly scenes before the match on Saturday when police had to intervene after violent clashes between rival supporters outside the ground.

"It is a great win for us on not an easy pitch," said Sarfaraz. "We know it was not an easy target. Their bowlers used the conditions very well. Everyone chipped in, it was good team work."

After a terrible start with just one win from their opening five matches, Pakistan have now won three in matches in succession to leapfrog hosts England into fourth place.

A semi-final place is still in England's hands, but they face the daunting task of having to beat at least one and most likely both of India and New Zealand in their final two fixtures.

"We all know that it is not easy to win our last four games, we go match by match," added Sarfaraz, whose side face Bangladesh in their final group game. We will all be watching India v England tomorrow."

Afghanistan captain Gulbadin Naib was left to regret bringing himself on to bowl at the death.

With the run rate spiralling, his penultimate over went for 18 runs.

"It was bad luck," said Gulbadin. "It was very difficult for Pakistan to chase that total on a turning wicket. It was the turning point."

Man-of-the-match Imad admitted he had targeted Gulbadin after struggling to score quickly off the Afghan spinners 

"Gulbadin was the only one who could be targeted," he said. "They have world-class spinners so we attacked him."

Feature image courtesy: Twitter

Afghanistan captain Gulbadin Naib has reminded Pakistan of the threat posed by leg-spinner Rashid Khan ahead of their World Cup meeting on Saturday.

Rashid, third in the one-day international bowling rankings, has taken just four wickets at the tournament so far.

He returned humiliating figures of 0-110 in his nine overs against England -- the worst in the competition's history.

But Naib gave a reminder of the threat posed by the 20-year-old, whose tally of 129 ODI wickets since the end of the 2015 World Cup is bettered only by England's Adil Rashid.

Gulbadan Naib: "I think tomorrow could be Rashid Khan's day" #PAKvAFG #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/vAoBpsICEN

�?Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) June 28, 2019

"Pakistan are a strong team and played spin very well in their last two games," Naib said.

"But Rashid is a different spinner, he's very different to other leg-spinners. It's very difficult to pick him.

"In this World Cup I don't think he's been at his best but he's given everything in terms of effort. On his day, it's very difficult for any team to deal with him."

"If it is a Rashid day, it's very difficult for anyone," added the skipper, who will be desperate for a win against Pakistan after seven defeats in seven matches.

Pakistan have shown their prowess against the turning ball in successive victories over South Africa and New Zealand that have revitalised their chances of reaching the semi-finals.

Rashid's spin twin Mujeeb Ur Rahman impressed against India and Bangladesh.

Naib revealed the 18-year-old was left out of the team to face South Africa and New Zealand due to concerns over the fluency of his bowling action but is delighted by his recent displays.

"We were worried about Mujeeb's action in the first couple of games," he explained.

"He was missing something. He went away with our coach and video analyst to work on it and he has his form and rhythm back now."

Feature image courtesy: Twitter/ @cricketworldcup