Jubilation everywhere

Hundreds of jubilant Afghan cricket fans flooded onto the streets of major cities Thursday, dancing, waving flags and firing AK-47s in celebration at their team's historic World Cup win over Scotland.

Afghanistan, making their World Cup debut, secured a nailbiting one-wicket win over the Scots in Dunedin, chasing down the 211 target with just three balls to spare.

In Kandahar, the southern city once famous as the Taliban heartland and now a bastion of cricket, ecstatic fans danced in the streets and fired off their weapons -- a traditional Afghan gesture of celebration.

"After Afghanistan lost the seventh wicket, I smashed my phone in anger and cursed my team. Now they have won, I cannot believe it, but I am very happy," Abdul Samad told AFP.

There was more dancing and celebratory gunfire in the eastern city of Jalalabad, where university student Mirwais Rahman gave his classmates an unexpected surprise.

"I was in my class, but was not listening to the teacher, I had an earplug listening to the cricket on the radio," he told AFP.

"When four balls remained and Shapoor hit the winning boundary I cried out in happiness."

In Kabul groups of fans drove the city's streets, waving flags and chanting slogans from car windows.

After the win, President Ashraf Ghani issued a statement extending congratulations to the Afghan cricketers and urged them to carry on their exploits in their next game.