[Watch] Pakistan and Afghanistan players exchange pleasantries following the T20I Series.

The T20 International (T20I) Series between cricketing neighbors Pakistan and Afghanistan ended with the former avoiding a series whitewash with a 66-run victory in the third and final T20I. However, Afghanistan scripted a memorable 2-1 series win by winning the first two matches of the best-of-three series.

The series had Pakistan experimenting with some new faces that starred in the recently concluded Pakistan Super League (PSL). The potent Afghan bowling attack, though, exploited the inexperience of Pakistan's batting in the first two matches, restricting them to 92/9 and 130/6, respectively.

Led by Imad Wasim, Pakistan found the going difficult for much of the series despite an impressive showing by the much-talked-about tearaway quick Ihsanulla. The pacer picked up six wickets in three matches at an impressive economy of under 6.5 runs per over.

Despite intense battles and stiff competition during the series, players from both teams displayed great sportsmanship by interacting with one another after the series.

Here's a video clip of the players from both teams greeting each other.

"Special Occasion to be part of this Team" - A delighted Rashid Khan after the series victory against Pakistan

Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan was visibly delighted after the series victory against the T20 World Cup finalists. Although he was disappointed not getting over the line in the final T20, the skipper felt elated to be part of the current setup.

During the post-match presentation, the Afghanistan captain spoke about the series win and areas to improve:

It's a special occasion to be part of this team, it was a great effort from everyone. We won the series, but we have some areas to improve on. It was a great learning for us. We responded well under pressure...we have struggled under pressure in the past but I'm happy that we chased in a couple of games. This was a much better wicket than the first two games. I felt 10 an over was gettable on this wicket. But the run-out and then Najib got hit, and we lost wickets in the middle.

The 24-year-old also spoke about his form and routine ahead of each game.

I try to focus on fitness and work hard, need to make it as hard as possible for the batters. Need to keep it simple, not confuse myself and not experiment much. I know my routine and I try to hit the areas.

Rashid was his usual impressive self with three wickets in the series at a magnificent economy rate of just 5.16 runs per over.

Mohammad Nabi was awarded the player of the series for an impressive all-around show throughout the series as the veteran finished with 69 runs and three wickets in the series, including a man-of-the-match performance in the first T20I.

Pakistan will next host New Zealand in a five-match ODI and T20 series on April 2023, while Afghanistan will tour Bangladesh on June 2023 for two tests, three ODIs, and three T20s.

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