PAK vs AFG Asia Cup 2022 Highlights
Right-arm pacer Naseem Shah struck two successive sixes in the final over as Pakistan defeated Afghanistan by one wicket in a tense Asia Cup Super 4 match to throw India out of the tournament on September 7 (Wednesday).
Afghanistan were firmly in control of the match till the last over, reducing Pakistan to 118 for nine. But, Naseem had other plans as he hit Fazalhaq Farooqi for two consecutive sixes to send both Afghanistan and India out of the reckoning for a final berth.
With two wins from as many games, both Pakistan and Sri Lanka have sealed their places in the final of the tournament to be held on Sunday. India and Afghanistan will lock horns in their final Super 4 match on Thursday, which has been rendered inconsequential.
Despite clinching a nerve-jangling win, Pakistan's ace spinner Shadab Khan was unimpressed by his team's performance as he warned the Men in Green of sudden batting collapses.
"I think a good team should not suffer a collapse like this in pressure situations, especially I played a rash shot. I was well set and should have finished the match," said Shadab in the post-match press conference.
"Like I said at the start of the tournament, we are a good team but not a champion team and that's what is our goal. Hopefully, we will work on this and try not to repeat our mistakes," he added.
Pakistan had a torrid time during their chase, losing skipper Babar Azam (0) early as the batter endured another failure after being trapped LBW by Fazalhaq Farooqi (3/31) in the second ball of the innings. To make matters worse for Pakistan, Fakhar Zaman (5) was run out in the first delivery of the fourth over, off a direct throw from Najibullah Zadran.
Afghanistan got the upper hand when Rashid Khan (2/25) trapped in-form Mohammad Rizwan (20) in front of the wicket with a peach of a delivery that was sure to hit the middle stump, crashing the batter on to his back foot after pitching just outside the off-stump.
In the end, the Men in Green needed Naseem Shah's brilliance to chase down an easy target of 130 runs.
