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Pakistan beat Afghanistan by one wicket in Wednesday’s (September 7) Asia Cup 2022 Super 4 match in Sharjah. In yet another game that went down to the wire, Afghanistan looked set to pull off a major upset.
However, with 11 needed off the last over and only one wicket in hand, Naseem Shah (14* off four) turned out to be the unlikely hero with the bat for Pakistan. He clobbered two full tosses from Fazalhaq Farooqi over the ropes to sink Afghanistan into sorrow.
Following the win, Pakistan booked their place in the Asia Cup final alongside Sri Lanka, knocking out India and Afghanistan in the process.
At one point in their chase, Pakistan seemed to be in control at 87 for three. However, Farooqi (3/31), Fareed Ahmad (3/31), and Rashid Khan (2/25) combined to keep Afghanistan in the game, even though they had a low total of 129 to defend.
Chasing 130 to book a place in the final, Pakistan yet again lost their out-of-form skipper Babar Azam early on. The opener was trapped lbw by Farooqi for a golden duck as he missed a length ball that straightened to beat the inside edge.
Najibullah Zadran kept Afghanistan’s hopes of an upset alive, running out Fakhar Zaman (5) with a direct hit. Rashid then struck a massive blow, trapping Pakistan’s anchor Mohammad Rizwan (20) lbw with a googly. The right-handed batter was on the back foot and was struck right in front as he missed his flick.
At the halfway stage of the innings, Pakistan were 52 for three. Shadab Khan (36 off 26) and Iftikhar Ahmed (30 off 33), however, lifted them with a fighting fourth-wicket stand of 42. While Ahmed was content playing the anchor role, Shadab took on the Afghanistan bowlers.
In the 12th over bowled by Mohammad Nabi, he slog-swept a six and smacked a full toss for four over midwicket. In the next over, he swung Mujeeb Ur Rahman for a maximum over long on.
Afghanistan, however, kept finding ways to crawl back into the contest. Ahmed was dismissed when he pulled a slower bouncer from Fareed to deep midwicket. With 39 needed off the last four overs, Shadab slog-swept Rashid for a six. However, he perished to the very next ball, caught at short third man. The excitement continued as Asif Ali came in and smashed the first delivery he faced over the ropes.
There was another twist in the tale when Farooqi trapped Mohammad Nawaz (4) lbw with a beautifully disguised slower ball. Farooqi claimed his second wicket of the over and third of the match when Khushdil Shah (1) dragged a full delivery outside off back onto his stumps. Not only did he claim two scalps in the over, but gave away only four runs.
Pakistan went into the last two overs needing 21 to win, with only three wickets in hand. Fareed gave Afghanistan the upper hand as Haris Rauf (0) chopped the first ball he faced from the left-arm seamer onto the stumps.
Asif Ali (16) swung Fareed for a crucial six over cow corner. However, the pacer had his revenge on the very next ball as the batter miscued a hook and was caught off the top edge. Emotions ran high as the bowler and the dismissed batter got into a verbal argument.
Naseem Shah then stunned Afghanistan with two incredible strikes under pressure and went on a wild run as part of his celebrations. He was soon joined by his teammates as Afghanistan tried to process what had just transpired.
Clinical Pakistan restrict Afghanistan to 129 for 6
Bowling first, Pakistan came up with a professional effort to restrict Afghanistan to 129/6. Pacer Rauf claimed 2/26, while all the other bowlers chipped in with one wicket each, without giving away too many runs. For Afghanistan, Ibrahim Zadran top-scored with 35 off 37.
The in-form Rahmanullah Gurbaz got Afghanistan off to a confident start, smashing Mohammad Hasnain for consecutive sixes in the second over. However, he could not carry on to register a big score as he was cleaned up by Rauf for 17. Hazratullah Zazai was also back in the hut for 21. He was foxed by a slower one by Hasnain that breached his defense.
Afghanistan could not get much momentum into their innings after the dismissal of their openers. Karim Janat scored 15 at less than run-a-ball before miscuing a slog-sweep off Nawaz to long-on. Najibullah Zadran (10) and Afghan skipper Nabi (0) perished off consecutive deliveries. The former was caught in the deep, trying to break free against Shabad. Nabi then chopped a back-of-a-length delivery from Naseem Shah back on the stumps.
Ibrahim held the innings together before Rauf extracted some extra bounce and forced a nick from the set batter. A few big hits from Rashid (18*) at the death ensured Afghanistan had something to bowl at.
PAK vs AFG 2022: Who was Player of the Match in Pakistan vs Afghanistan T20I?
Naseem Shah had a brilliant all-round game. He registered figures of one for 19 in four overs, and then struck two sixes that put Pakistan into the final. Rauf was the team’s best bowler, claiming two for 26. With the bat, Shadab and Ahmed made crucial contributions. The former was also economical with the ball, finishing with 1/27 in his four overs.
For Afghanistan, Ibrahim Zadran top-scored with 35. Farooqi, Fareed, and Rashid combined to pick up eight wickets and give Pakistan a real scare.
Shadab was named Player of the Match for his excellent all-round effort.
