T20 World Cup 2021: 3 things Pakistan got right against Afghanistan and 2 they didn’t

Pakistan and Afghanistan had a very close match during their T20 World Cup 2021 group encounter on Friday. Mohammad Nabi won the toss for his team and decided to bat first. The decision worked in Pakistan’s favor early on as the bowlers took control of the match.

However, Gulbadin Naib (35) and Nabi (35) pulled the match back for their side and scored some quick runs in the final three overs of the contest. This took their total to 147 for six wickets.

Pakistan lost Mohammad Rizwan early in their batting innings before Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman put on a decent partnership. The Men in Green started wilting away before Asif Ali smoked the 19th over for four sixes to seal the deal for Pakistan.

The match was more than just a nail-bitter. It proved that Afghanistan is well capable of putting the top teams of the contest in tough situations. Pakistan, on the other hand, will have a lot to learn from this close victory.

Take a look at the three things Pakistan got right in their match against Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup and the two things they got wrong.

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#5. Got right: The first 13 overs of the Afghanistan innings in the T20 World Cup 2021

Pakistan’s bowlers have been at the top of their game in the powerplay this T20 World Cup. Shaheen Afridi and Imad Wasim started off bowling for Pakistan against Afghanistan and gave the Men in Green a great start.

Imad picked up a wicket in his first over and Shaheen followed in the next. Afghanistan were five down for 65 in the first ten overs of the innings and it looked like Pakistan would restrict them to a subpar score.

Hasan Ali followed up the great work with a maiden 12th over that really put Afghanistan on the backfoot in the T20 World Cup clash. Afghanistan could only score 76 for the loss of six wickets in the first 13 overs of the innings.

Had Pakistan kept the pressure on, the team could have gotten Afghanistan out for a much lower total in the T20 World Cup.

The final three overs went for 43 runs and Pakistan were unable to pick up any wickets. The extra runs really hurt the Men in Green late in the contest.

#4. Got wrong: The 18th over of the Afghanistan innings

Hasan Ali could not hold his nerves in the 18th over of the match and leaked too many runs in the T20 World Cup. He bowled a slower ball first up and Gulbadin Naib knocked it out of the park for a big six.

Naib went on a roll right after and scored 21 runs off the over to take Afghanistan to a formidable total. Hasan bowled a no-ball in the over that cost him two extra runs.

Even though Pakistan held Afghanistan back for a major portion of the first inning of their T20 World Cup, Hasan gave away too many runs later on.

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#3. Got right: The partnership between Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman for Pakistan

Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam were only able to put on 12 runs in 15 balls for the first wicket for Pakistan. After Rizwan lost his wicket, Fakhar Zaman came into the middle.

Along with Babar, Fakhar rotated the strike well and kept picking up runs to keep the required rate under control.

Fakhar lost his wicket for 30 runs, but his partnership allowed Pakistan to put on 63 in 52 balls. This proved to be the most crucial partnership for Pakistan during their run chase in their T20 World Cup match against Afghanistan.

#2. Got wrong: Pakistan’s reluctance to use an additional spinner

Pakistan went into their T20 World Cup match against Afghanistan with four spin all-rounders. In the matches against India and New Zealand, Mohammad Hafeez was handed the ball for two overs each. He delivered in both matches and kept things tight to get Pakistan through the middle overs of the innings.

In the match against Afghanistan, Babar Azam did not turn to Hafeez or Shoaib Malik to get a couple of overs out in the middle. Babar looked set to get things over quickly after Afghanistan went six down. However, the pace at the end allowed Gulbadin Naib and Mohammad Nabi to pile on the runs.

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#1. Got right: Asif Ali’s stroke of brilliance to end the match

Asif Ali carried Pakistan to a victory against New Zealand in the T20 World Cup on Tuesday evening. Asif came in on Friday evening with Pakistan needing 26 off 18 balls. The Green team could only manage two runs in the over that followed, while Shoaib Malik lost his wicket.

Asif Ali hit four sixes off the 19th over to help his team cruise to another victory in the T20 World Cup. Asif’s brilliance came at a time when all hope was lost for Pakistan. He scored 25 off just seven deliveries to take Pakistan to victory with an over to spare.