On August 24 at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, Hambantota, Afghanistan were on the verge of registering their first-ever ODI win over Pakistan. In the 47th over, after Iftikhar Ahmed's wicket, Pakistan needed 43 more runs to win from 22 balls with three wickets in hand. But Afghan pacer Abdul Rahman made some mistakes that helped Pakistan make their way back in the game and eventually win it by one run with one ball to spare. Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi did not refrain from pointing it out after missing out on a golden chance to humble the Babar Azam-led side.
“It's hurting. We had enough runs on the board. The game was in our hands. The 49th over, Abdul Rahman gave some easy balls to hit. Openers are playing well from last one and a half years. Both are good sides. We didn't control pressure well enough.” Shahidi said in the post-match presentation.
In the 48th over, Rahman gave away five extra runs as he bowled a huge wide down the leg side. In the penultimate over, he conceded six runs from the first four balls. Then, he bowled a full toss which was hit for a boundary by Shadab. Then, the all-rounder was fed a high full toss which was smashed for a six over square leg.
From needing 27 runs in the last two overs, Pakistan needed 11 runs in the final over tilting the game in their favour slightly. Despite Fazalhaq Farooqi running out Shadab before bowling the ball, Naseem Shah managed to take his side over the line with one ball to spare. If it wasn’t for Rahman losing the plot in the slog overs, the chances of Pakistan’s comeback were very slim. In the end, Rahman ended up conceding 83 runs from his quota of 10 overs including 13 wides.
Earlier, Shadab infused life into the run chase with his 35-ball 48. He recalled the T20 World Cup 2022 where he blamed himself for loss to Zimbabwe and explained how he approached the run chase.
“When you're a senior player, you go through these phases many times, sometimes you fail, sometimes you succeed. They have quality spinners, so wanted to go after the fast bowlers. Was blaming myself for that shot against Zimbabwe in T20 WC. Resolved not to play such shots,” the Pakistan all-rounder said.
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