Too close, yet so far. That’s how the Afghanistan side must have felt after an outside edge off Naseem Shah’s bat robbed them of a maiden ODI win against Pakistan. It happened last year in the Asia Cup when the fast bowler smashed back-to-back sixes. This time he did it in ODIs ahead of the Asia Cup on Sri Lankan soil. Pakistan won the second ODI by one wicket with one ball to spare in a thriller of a run chase at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, Hambantota.
Opening partnership to remember
Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and opted to bat first. After getting all out for a paltry 59 in the first ODI, Gurbaz took his time in the first four overs. He broke free against Shaheen Afridi hitting him for a six and two fours. Ibrahim Zadran took his time to settle. In the 19th over, Gurbaz got to his half-century from 72 deliveries. In the 22nd over, they crossed the 100-run mark. In the 30th over, Zadran completed his half-century from 71 balls.
The partnership continued to frustrate Pakistan bowlers. Gurbaz got to his century from 122 balls in the 35th over. He shifted gears against Haris Rauf and hit him for four consecutive fours. The partnership was finally broken in the 40th over by Usama Mir. Zadran went for the big shot but got caught at long-off. He scored 80 runs from 101 deliveries including six fours and two sixes. The 227-run partnership is the second-highest opening partnership against Pakistan in ODIs.
Record-breaking Gurbaz
In the 44th over, Gurbaz got to his 150 from 150 balls. He became the first wicketkeeper-batter to score a 150 against Pakistan in ODIs. Afridi got the big wicket of Gurbaz in the next over. His 151-run knock included 14 fours and three sixes. In the same over, Rashid Khan got out lbw. In the end, valuable contributions from Mohammad Nabi and Shahidi helped Afghanistan post 300/5 on the board.
Ideal approach in run chase
Pakistan got to an ideal start in the run chase. But a fantastic back-of-a-length delivery from Fazalhaq Farooqi in the ninth over got the better of Fakhar Zaman. The opener scored 30 runs from 34 balls in the 52-run partnership. Azam joined Imam-ul-Haq in the middle and got off to a good start. Pakistan crossed the 100-run mark in the 17th over. Imam got to his half-century from 55 deliveries in the 20th over. The partnership started to look dangerous. Azam batted patiently and got to his half-century from 63 deliveries in the 30th over.
Wickets tumble in middle overs
Farooqi came back into the attack and got an important breakthrough. He chipped the ball towards mid-on fielder Shahidi. The skipper scored 53 runs from 66 balls in the 118-run partnership. A few overs later, Mohammad Rizwan got involved in a mix-up and got run out. Agha Salman got an early reprieve as Farooqi dropped his catch when he was batting on 12. But he failed to make it count. Nabi in the next over got Salman's wicket followed by Mir's. Then Mujeeb got the prized wicket of Imam. The opener scored 91 runs from 105 balls including four fours. Pakistan were struggling for 212/6 after 39 overs.
Shadab’s magic, Naseem’s dramatic finish
Shadab Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed tried to string together a partnership but the latter struggled to score quickly. With the required run rate climbing up, Ahmed went for a big shot and lost his wicket to Abdul Rahman. In the 48th over, Farooqi got the wicket of Afridi to make matters worse for Pakistan. In the last two overs, 27 runs were needed. In the penultimate over, Shadab hit Rahman for a four and a six.
In the final over, 11 runs were needed. Farooqi started off with a wicket as Shadab was out of his crease at the non-striker’s end. The all-rounder scored a game-changing 35-ball 48. But Naseem did not lose hope and started off with a four. After a dot ball, Naseem took a single. Then Haris Rauf hit the ball in the deep and scampered for three runs. On the penultimate ball, Naseem got an outside edge off the bat to hit a boundary to win the match for his team by one wicket.
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