Naseem Shah was the hero of Pakistan’s thrilling win in T20 Asia Cup against Afghanistan that helped them stay alive in the tournament. Shah’s bit-hitting saved Pakistan from their first defeat to Afghanistan in a low-scoring encounter. Months later, Shah could not make a difference as Pakistan suffered a batting collapse at Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the first of three-T20I series against Rashid Khan-led side.
In the 16th over of Pakistan's innings, Shah had faced two dot deliveries against veteran off-spinner Mohammad Nabi. Shah almost got out when he heaved across the line on the first ball he faced from Nabi. That did not stop him from going for the big shot again. He lost control of the bat swing as the extra bounce got the better of him. He ended up hitting the bat on the stumps and lost his wicket. He walked back to the dressing room with just two runs from seven balls after comical dismissal.
Under the leadership of Shadab Khan, the second-string Pakistan side struggled against a quality Afghan bowling attack. They lost half their side for just 41 runs in five overs. The highest score by a batter in Pakistan's innings was Imad Wasim's 18. Wasim took 32 deliveries to score just 18 runs and lost his wicket to left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Only Naveen-ul-Haq turned out to be the expensive bowler as he leaked 19 runs from his two overs. Mujeeb Ur Rahman was economical as he conceded just nine runs from his quota of four overs. Farooqi and skipper Rashid were economical too as they conceded 13 and 15 runs respectively from their quota of four overs.
In the end, Pakistan could manage to post just 92 runs on the board for the loss of nine wickets. This is their fifth-lowest T20I total. Also, it is their lowest total at Sharjah by a massive margin.
With the ball, Naseem could not do much with the new ball. He did manage to take the wicket of opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz who scored 16 runs from 17 deliveries. In his first over, he got hit for a six by the wicketkeeper-batter. In his first spell with the new ball, he conceded 15 runs from three overs.
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