Afghanistan fought valiantly, Afghanistan fought nobly, Afghanistan fought honourably, but, Naseem Shah had the last say in a heart-pumping low-scoring encounter at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. The two sixes from Naseem not just cemented Pakistan’s place in Asia Cup 2022 semi-final but knocked out Afghanistan and India out of the tournament in one go.
Chasing a modest total of 130, Pakistan skipper Babar was stunned by left-arm pacer Fazhal Farooqi. Fakhar Zaman did not look comfortable either and got out trying to sneak a quick single inside the circle. Najibullah came up with a stunning direct hit to catch Zaman short of the crease. After the powerplay overs, Pakistan were 35/2. Iftikhar Ahmed used the fielding restrictions in the fifth over but Rizwan struggled.
Rashid Khan added more pressure on Rizwan and got the better of him in the ninth over. Shadab Khan and Iftikhar took control of the run chase. At halfway stage, Pakistan were 52/3. Shadab infused some life into the run chase in the 12th over with a four and six off skipper Nabi. He hit another off Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the next over. Mujeeb conceded just 12 runs from his quota of four overs.
In the 16th over, Fareed Ahmad got the wicket of Iftikhar to disrupt the balance. Iftikhar got out after scoring 30 off 33 deliveries. Shadab kept the pressure on with another six off the first ball of the 17th over. But Rashid came back well and got the wicket of Shadab in the 17th over. The all-rounder scored 36 runs from 26 deliveries.
But Rashid came back well and got the wicket of Shadab in the 17th over. The all-rounder scored 36 runs from 26 deliveries. In the penultimate over, two more wickets fell. Haris Rauf got out for a golden duck whereas Asif Ali lost his wicket after 8-ball 16.
In the last over, Pakistan needed 11 runs to win the match. Farooqi came round the stumps to Naseem and he tonked two sixes to finish off the run chase with four balls to spare.
Earlier, Afghanistan got off to a flier. Rahmanullah Gurbaz hit a couple of sixes but his knock was ended by a superb delivery from Haris Rauf. In the next over, Hazratullah Zazai got deceived by Mohammad Hasnain's slower one. Zazai scored Gurbaz contributed with 17-ball 21 and 11-ball 17 respectively.
Ibrahim Zadran and Karim Janat stitched a partnership but did not score enough boundaries in the middle overs. Janat gave in to the pressure and lost his wicket to Nawaz. Shadab struck as well and dismissed the dangerous Najibullah. Skipper Nabi failed to impress and got out for a golden duck in the 15th over.
Ibrahim looked to score quickly but Rauf got his wicket in the first over of slog overs. He scored 35 runs from 37 deliveries including two fours and one six. In the slog overs, Azmatullah Omarzai scored a run-a-ball 10 whereas Rashid remained unbeaten for 15-ball 18 including two fours and one six.
Naseem turned out to be the most economical bowler as he conceded just 19 runs. Pakistan bowlers executed their plans well and restricted Afghanistan for 129/6.
