It was a massive moment for Afghanistan cricket when they beat their rivals Pakistan by six wickets in their first T20I of the series in Sharjah on Friday, March 24. Led by Rashid Khan with the ball and then Mohammad Nabi with the bat, the Afghanis dominated Pakistan in both departments to seal their first win over the side in international cricket in an emphatic manner.
Speaking after the match, skipper Rashid was proud of the performance but remained wary about being consistent and in form as they begin preparing for the 2023 ODI World Cup. "Wearing Afghanistan colours and leading the team in a win is a proud achievement... We need to improve not just for this series but as we get to the world cup. From now on, we need to put effort day by day and game by game, by the end of the year when we go for the world cup, we'll have a fully prepared squad."
His sentiment was echoed by the Player of the match Nabi, whose unbeaten run-a-ball 38 helped chase down a meagre 92-run target set by Pakistan. Nabi said that restricting them to less than 100 was always the plan, and scoring 38 on this pitch felt like hitting a century.
"Congrats to everyone. Was a tough score to chase in these conditions. As a bowling unit, we wanted to keep them under 100. With the bat, I wanted to take responsibility and close the game. Most of the guys in our squad are playing big leagues, some have been here in the UAE for 15 days. So we were set. Thirty-eight on this wicket can feel like a hundred," said the match-winner.
Pakistan have travelled to the UAE with a second-string side, with many of their first-team players benched. Stand-in skipper Shadab Khan handed debuts to four players — right-arm pacers Ihsanullah and Zaman Khan, opener Saim Ayub and middle-order batter Tayyab Tahir.
The most impressive was Ihsanullah, who got the wicket of Ibrahim Zadran (9) in his first ball in international cricket. two balls later, Gulbadin Naib perished as well, handing the debutant two wickets in his first over in international cricket.
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