Afghanistan and Pakistan locked horns in what was a must-win game for the former. The Men in Green, on the other hand, entered the game on the back of a confident win against India. They have had a great outing so far and the bowling looks stronger than ever. Afghanistan can’t be undermined either as they proved their worth in the group stage of the Asia Cup 2022.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam won the toss and elected to field first in Sharjah betting on the records. The Afghanistan openers gave them a decent start to rely on but were put down by the middle-order batters. Their skipper Mohammad Nabi failed the team yet again and Afghanistan collapsed from 73/3 to 91/5 in no time. Ibrahim Zadran was the only guy to have stepped up with his 35 runs.
The batters looked puzzled with not many options to play with against a fiery Pakistan pace battery. The Afghanistan team ended up amassing 129 for the loss of six wickets in 20 overs.
A historic run chase by Pakistan to be remembered for years
The Men in Green brigade successfully restricted the opposition to a low score which most consider to be a crucial factor in winning a game.
However, the Pakistan skipper Babar Azam bagged a golden duck against Fazalhaq Farooqi. The Pakistan batters struggled to get on with the spinners as Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman kept deceiving the batters with quality bowling. Iftikhar Ahmed and Mohammad Rizwan kept picking up singles to keep up with the run rate.
Shadab Khan kept finding boundaries at the other end to keep Pakistan in the game. With the match equally poised, the teams started bracing for the final impact. This looked like yet another match that could go down the wire post 10th over of the second innings. The all-rounder kept toying with spinners that other batters found it difficult and inched closer to the target.
Despite a collapse in the end, the green brigade won the match by 1 wicket on the back of Naseem Shah's double maximus. Here we bring some splendid tweets post the thrilling victory of Pakistan:
I bet you Shadab and Nawaz, both are better batters than our actual middle order batters ❤️#shadabkhan #PAKvAFG #AFGvPAK
— JS Tweets (@SukhaniJeetesh) September 7, 2022
This is insane 😸#PAKvAFG #AsiaCup2022
— Ali Sher Alpa (@alpa_sher) September 7, 2022
The good thing is, Afghans are in light mood tonight. Players mingling with eachother. That's exactly how cricket should be played across Asia!#PAKvAFG
— Abdullah. (@SaidbyAbdullah) September 7, 2022
Our hero Shahhhhhhh ♥️♥️♥️ #PAKvAFG
— Amna Hussain (@Lovina_says) September 7, 2022
Naseem Shah ne bacha lia ❤️😭
— Syed Ismail (@itaachiuchia) September 7, 2022
What a game boiz🇵🇰💚 congratulations 🥳#PAKvAFG
I just can’t believe what I have witnessed now and my whole body is shaking😭😭😭
— Ahsaan Elahi (@Its_Ahsaan) September 7, 2022
My team is in finals😭♥️ #PAKvAFG
Oh oh oh..... This is something I can't explain in words 😭😭😭
— Tabish chaudhry (@tabish_chaudhry) September 7, 2022
Naseem Shah 🔥🔥#AsiaCup2022#PAKvAFG
Come on Green shirts 🇵🇰🔥#PakvAfg #AsiaCup
— Demon 😈 (@Deminem18) September 7, 2022
Rashid khan is just unmatchable insane talent 👏🔥 #PAKvAFG #AsiaCup2022 @rashidkhan_19
— Rohan Kokne 🇮🇳 (@ImRohanK45) September 7, 2022
such a friendly environment,
— nauman khattak (@kknomaa) September 7, 2022
both the teams are just having fun..#PAKvAFG
Huge Victory Team Pakistan💚
— Kovai Jagadesh (@kovai_jagadesh) September 7, 2022
#PAKvAFG