Pakistan registered their third consecutive win in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup as they defeated Afghanistan by five wickets courtesy of Asif Ali’s four 6’s in the penultimate over of the inning on Friday in Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
The Men-in-Green had a few hiccups while they were chasing a moderate target of 148 runs in the encounter.
The star wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan could not do much with the bat on the day as he lost his wicket after scoring 8 off 10 balls.
Babar once again led from the front and had a solid partnership with the left-handed batter Fakhar Zaman. They contributed 63 runs together before the latter fell to the opposition captain Mohammad Nabi. He played a decent inning of 30 off 25.
With the departure of Fakhar, Afghan bowlers tightened the screws with the help of Rashid Khan’s mystery bowling who also got rid of the experienced Mohammad Hafeez as his 100th wicket.
It was the skipper and Shoaib Malik on the crease when Pakistan needed 47 in the last five overs. Afghanistan had exhausted their two spinners, Nabi and Mujeeb, while Rashid had one over to bowl.
Malik struck a beautiful six off Rashid in the 16th over and it looked like Pakistan were in control, but Babar played an irresponsible shot on the last delivery of his spell and lost his wicket. He played a steady inning of 51 runs off 47 balls.
The 2009 World Champions needed 26 runs in the last three overs but Afghanistan’s young pacer Naveen Ul Haq bowled an incredible over, conceding just two runs and dismissing Malik, who was looking good on a score of 19 runs.
The Green Caps needed 24 runs off 13 balls when Shadab Khan came on to bat and looked to take a single on the last ball of the over, but Asif Ali turned down the call, which looked absurd at that moment.
However, Asif proved his decision right as he struck four sixes in that over of Karim Janat to take his team home with a miraculous performance.
Babar once again remained the highest scorer for his team with 51 runs, while Fakhar made 30 and Asif scored 25 (7).
On the other hand, Rashid was the best bowler for Afghanistan with two wickets for 26 runs. Moreover, Mujeeb, Nabi and Naveen struck once in the game, conceding, 14, 36 and 22 runs, respectively.
Earlier in the game, after winning the toss, Afghanistan posted a decent total of 147 on the board after an onslaught by the experienced campaigner Nabi and Gulbadin Naib at the backend of the inning.
Afghanistan did not have the ideal of starts as they lost their openers for 13 runs while Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Asghar Afghan looked promising during their brief stay at the crease but could not capitalise on their starts as they both fell after scoring 10 runs apiece.
The emerging Asian giants could not help their fall of wickets at regular intervals and were reduced to 76 for 6 in 12.5 overs after losing Karim Janat and Najibullah Zadran for 15 and 22 runs, respectively.
At the stage, it looked like Afghanis may not even reach 100 runs as the Men-in-Green were all over them. At that crucial stage, Mohammad Nabi held his nerves and looked to sail the sinking ship of his team with his experience and skill.
He avoided playing rash shots but did not spare bad deliveries. Meanwhile, Naib kept the other end intact. The duo made sure that they did not lose any more wickets, stabilising their team for 104 for 6 in 17 overs.
As Hasan Ali came in to bowl the 18th over, they went full berserk, scoring 21 runs in it with the help of a 6 and two 4’s which set the stage for a decent score.
Nabi scored 15 more runs in Haris Rauf’s penultimate over, hitting three boundaries. The score of 160 was on the cards but Pakistan’s ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi pulled the reins and restricted Afghanistan to 147, not conceding a single boundary in the last over.
Nabi and Naib remained unbeaten on 35 each off 32 and 25 balls, respectively.
Hasan and Haris looked off-colour on the day as they leaked 38 and 37 runs in their quota of four overs, respectively. The left-arm spinner Imad Wasim remained the pick of the bowlers for the Green Shirts with two wickets for 25 runs. Afridi and Shadab bowled brilliant spells, conceding 22 runs each and picking a wicket.