Live Cricket Score | Pakistan vs Afghanistan Live Score & Commentary | PAK vs AFG Scorecard, Asia Cup 2022

4th T20I • Sharjah Cricket Stadium • Sharjah

Afghanistan

129/6 (20)

Pakistan

131/9 (19.2)

PAK won by 1 wickets

Info

Fantasy

Live

Scorecard

Playing XI

Player of the Match Shadab Khan

36(26)

1/27

AFG s

PAK s

Info

Afghanistan s

129/6 (20)

Batters

Hazratullah Zazai

123.53

b M Hasnain

Rahmanullah Gurbaz

154.55

b H Rauf

Ibrahim Zadran

94.59

c M Rizwan b H Rauf

Karim Janat

78.95

c F Zaman b M Nawaz

Najibullah Zadran

90.91

c F Zaman b S Khan

Mohammad Nabi

(C)

0.00

b N Shah

Azmatullah Omarzai

100.00

Not out

Rashid Khan

120.00

Not out

Extras

(B: 0, LB: 0, NB: 1, W: 2)

TOTAL

(20 Ov, RR: 6.45)

129/6

Did not Bat

Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fareed Malik, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Bowlers

EXT

4.75

8.50

6.50

5.75

6.75

Fall Of Wickets

SCORE

OVER

Rahmanullah Gurbaz

b H Rauf

1-36

3.5

Hazratullah Zazai

b M Hasnain

2-43

4.5

Karim Janat

c F Zaman b M Nawaz

3-78

11.2

Najibullah Zadran

c F Zaman b S Khan

4-91

13.6

Mohammad Nabi

b N Shah

5-91

14.1

Ibrahim Zadran

c M Rizwan b H Rauf

6-104

16.3

Pakistan s

131/9 (19.2)

Batters

Mohammad Rizwan

76.92

lbw b R Khan

Babar Azam

(C)

0.00

lbw b F Farooqi

Fakhar Zaman

55.56

runout (N Zadran)

Iftikhar Ahmed

90.91

c I Zadran b F Malik

Shadab Khan

138.46

c A Omarzai b R Khan

Mohammad Nawaz

80.00

lbw b F Farooqi

Asif Ali

200.00

c K Janat b F Malik

Khushdil Shah

33.33

b F Farooqi

Haris Rauf

0.00

b F Malik

Naseem Shah *

350.00

Not out

Mohammad Hasnain

0.00

Not out

Extras

(B: 0, LB: 4, NB: 0, W: 1)

TOTAL

(19.2 Ov, RR: 6.78)

131/9

Bowlers

EXT

Fazalhaq Farooqi

3.2

9.30

3.00

7.75

6.25

7.33

6.00

Fall Of Wickets

SCORE

OVER

Babar Azam

lbw b F Farooqi

1-1

0.2

Fakhar Zaman

runout (N Zadran)

2-18

3.1

Mohammad Rizwan

lbw b R Khan

3-45

8.4

Iftikhar Ahmed

c I Zadran b F Malik

4-87

15.3

Shadab Khan

c A Omarzai b R Khan

5-97

16.2

Mohammad Nawaz

lbw b F Farooqi

6-105

17.1

Khushdil Shah

b F Farooqi

7-109

17.6

Haris Rauf

b F Malik

8-110

18.2

Asif Ali

c K Janat b F Malik

9-118

18.5

Match Info

Date & Time

07 Sep, 07:30 PM IST

Venue

Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Match

4th T20I,

Asia Cup 2022

Umpires

Anil Chaudhary (India), Jayaraman Madanagopal (India), Gazi Sohel (Bangladesh, TV)

Referee

Andy Pycroft (Zimbabwe)

Pitch Report

Pacers-friendly track with some help available for spinners

Toss

Pakistan elected to bowl

Player of the Match Shadab Khan

36(26)

1/27

Commentary

Well, that's all we have from this contest. Afghanistan will be back in action in less than 24 hours to take on India in a match that doesn't have much significance in the grand scheme of things. It will be a good chance for these two sides to sign off from this contest on a high though. Right. We'll see you tomorrow for that contest then. Same place, same time. For now, this is Pratyush Rohra, signing off on behalf of my co-commentator, Shashwat Kumar. Goodnight!

Everyone catch their breath? That was some contest, eh? A proper low-scoring humdinger of a game, keeping in tune with the kind of close contests we've witnessed in the tournament. There was plenty at stake, not only for these two sides, but for India, who are now out of the tournament. Such was the tournament, that the two unbeaten sides in the first round of this contest have been knocked out and not made the finals. That's why we love this sport, no?

Shadab Khan is the Player of the Match. Here is what he has to say: It's been going well so far (the tournament). We've played plenty of cricket in Dubai here because of the PSL and home series, which gives us a bit of an advantage. Personally, I don't feel it's too different (pitch comparison between Dubai and Sharjah). It styas a bit low but the way we played and kind of total we chased, it shouldn't have been as difficult. I should have finished it after getting set becuase it wasn't easy for the new batters. (Bowling) You know the spinners get help here, so we tried to keep it as tight as possible. Two dot balls can also create pressure which forces the batters into a mistake. If you do that, you can get wickets as well. Bowling with Nawaz is great. I know one of us can restrict the opposition while the other takes wickets and vice-versa. We are quite flexible (even with the bat). Myself and Nawaz look to come in with the bat depending on the situation. (On his promotion in the batting order) I think I play spinners well. I told Babar I should go in next and he agreed. Nawaz has a lot of batting talent which he hasn't shown yet. The way everyone remember Javed bhai's sixes, everyone's going to remember this as well. Our bowlers do a lot of batting practice in the nets for this very reason and we got the reward for it.

Babar Azam (Pakistan Captain): (Heart in his mouth?) Definitely (laughs). The game swung up and down. Glad that we came out winning and the emotions towards the end were something else. We know how well they bowl, Rashid bowled really well. But we had to take our risks. The bowlers did really well to restrict them under 130. I think we didn't execute well in terms of stitching partnerships but all's well that ends well. (What was going through his mind before those two sixes?) I was in the dressing room and my thoughts were elsewhere but we've seen Naseem bat like this in the nets. So there was belief that he could pull it off. It reminded us of Javed (Miandad) bhai when he scored that last ball six. We would like to continue the momentum we've got and try to take it one game at a time.

Mohammad Nabi: Yeah, the boys were brillaint in the field and with the ball. But again, same story. We didn't finish well. We didn't control our nerves at the end and didn't bowl at the right target. We didn't leave the game at any stage. The boys fought for every ball but it was the end that cost us. (What went wrong?) We just didn't finish well with the bat or with the ball. (Message at the halfway stage) Against Bangladesh we chased down a similar total. It's tough to chase a low total on this ground and our plans were to keep bowling dot balls to build the pressure. The fielders supported the bowlers a lot. We didn't give easy singles away and that was good to see. (Plan in the end) The plan was to bowl the perfect yorker or the slower bouncer. He missed his yorker, that's all. We will try our best to play the last game with the same energy. Thank you to the fans for the support. It was lovely here.

Here's the man of the moment, Naseem Shah: When I came out to bat I had the belief that I could score sixes since I've been practicing it. I knew that he would try the yorker (in the last over). The chat was to keep belief since we knew that we could hit it. I changed my bat since it wasn't alright and it worked. When I went out to bat Asif bhai was batting with me and my plan was to take a single and give him the strike. Once he got out I knew I had to go for it and thanks to the Almighty that I was able to do it. I always believe in myself that I can do it with the bat since I keep practicing it. I've been bowling well too. We knew this was an important match since if we win, we would make the final. Very glad we've made it.

Pakistan won by one wicket.

Shadab Khan - 36 (26) | Haris Rauf - 2/26
Ibrahim Zadran - 35 (37) | Fareed Ahmad Malik - 3/31

And breathe. Unbelievable scenes in Dubai with Pakistan emerging triumphant in a humdinger of a contest. The party will go long into the night for Pakistan after sealing their spot in the final, but take a minute to appreciate Afghanistan's efforts throughout this tournament. They have all the makings of becoming a side that can be a force to reckon with.

After a disappointing performance with the bat in hand, many would have assumed that this run chase would have been a walk in the park for Pakistan. That was far from the case though. The Afghanistan bowlers came out all guns blazing to dismiss Babar early.

That gave them the belief to go and get a few more, dismissing Fakhar in the powerplay as well. Rizwan was the glue who was keeping this innings together but once he was dismissed, Afghanistan were well and truly back into the contest.

A stumbling middle-order from Paksitan was rescued by Shadab Khan, for which the team management deserves a bit of credit as well. He came in as the pinch-hitter and ate away at the equation, keeping his side in touching distance with the required run rate.

The twists and turns didn't end their though. He was dismissed soon by Rashid, swinging the pendulum once more. With 25 required in the last three overs, Pakistan would have felt comfortable with Asif Ali at the crease. Fazalhaq Farooqi bowled a sensational 18th over to keep the game alive, with Fareed Ahmad taking two wickets in the penultimate over to dismiss Asif Ali

With 11 needed off the last over, an unlikely her emerged for Pakistan. Afghanistan were so close to victory, they could taste it, but Naseem Shah snatched it from right under their noses to seal the deal in one of the most dramatic fashions you could witness.

Fair to say, he won't forget this game anytime soon. Nor will we, to be honest. That was a proper contest which was a joy for neutral. Hold your head up, Farooqi and Afghanistan. That was a top effort but it wasn't your day. The finalists of the Asia Cup are set then. It will be Pakistan vs Sri Lanka on Sunday!

Naseem Shah has done it! I repeat, Naseem Shah has done it! He takes the helmet off and steams off to unleash his inner Imran Tahir with a lap around the ground. Pakistan are pumped! Afghanistan, crestfallen. This will be a hard one for them to take. They made a 130-run target look like a 160 target. Kudos to them for that effort, but it is Pakistan who clinch a thriller by one wicket. Scenes. The absolute scenes!

19.2 Fazalhaq Farooqi to Naseem Shah, SIX MORE! PAKISTAN MAKE THE FINAL! NASEEM SHAH, TAKE A BOW! BUILD HIM A STATUE AT KARACHI, LAHORE, PESHAWAR, RAWALPINDI, WHEREVER YOU LIKE! TWO BALLS IS ALL IT TAKES! My goodness! Another full toss outside off stump and Farooqi has not bowled two in succession this entire Asia Cup. But under pressure, he cracks. And Naseem, of all people, is on hand to plunder it over long off for the six that has sent millions of Pakistan fans into absolute frenzy! Phew! What a game!

Oh man! This cannot be happening! After a sensational previous over, Farooqi's dished out a full toss and paid the price for it. He needs to nail the yorker and hit the stumps just once. That has to be his go-to here. Plenty of chatter around now. Pakistan need 5 in 5.

19.1 Fazalhaq Farooqi to Naseem Shah, SIX! GOODNESS GRACIOUS ME! Full toss outside off stump and my word, Naseem has pounded that one miles over the long off fence! Oh, what a moment this is! Pure drama. Pure theatre. Pure box office!

Right then. Pakistan need 11 to win. Afghanistan need one wicket to win. 10 for a super over. Eyes of more than a billion people on three youngsters with bat and ball in the middle. . Naseem, Hasnain and Farooqi. Who will come out on top?

overs

119 /9 score

runs

Asif Ali

16 (8)

Naseem Shah *

2 (2)

Fareed Malik

3 /31

18.6 Fareed Ahmad to Naseem Shah, back of a length delivery outside off stump. Naseem has a mighty mow at it and drags the ball down the ground towards long on for a single

Mohammad Hasnain, RHB, comes to the crease

Tmpers flaring in the middle now and Fareed has to be held back. Clearly, he wasn't pleased with something Asif said or did. Well, it doesn't count for much now. The finisher for Paksitan is back in the hut. Afghanistan are one wicket away!

18.5 Fareed Ahmad to Asif Ali, OUT! ASIF DEPARTS! OH MY! INDIA AND AFGHANISTAN CELEBRATE! Slower delivery dug into the track outside off stump and on any other day, might have left it alone. But the pressure here forces him to look for another extravagant stroke. By the time the ball reaches him, it is well above his right shoulder and his swipe only elicits a top edge that lobs towards short fine leg, where the fielder makes no mistake! A bit of drama as the players have a few choice words for each other but Afghanistan are well and truly on top now!
Asif Ali c Karim Janat b Fareed Ahmad 16 (8b 0x4 2x6)

18.4 Fareed Ahmad to Asif Ali, SIX! RIGHT OUT OF THE SCREWS! MY GOODNESS! In the slot on off stump and guess what happens to those, they go miles! Just the perfect length for Asif to lean back and clatter it way over the deep mid wicket fence for a maximum!

18.3 Fareed Ahmad to Naseem Shah, length delivery outside off stump. Naseem has a nibble at it away from his body and gets a thick outside edge down to third man for a single

A burned review. How crucial will that prove to be? Oh, cheeky, Shashwat! Want to know how crucial burned reviews can be? Just ask Nathan Lyon.