Asif Ali donned the hat of a finisher yet again for Pakistan! The in-form batter whacked four sixes off Karim Jannat in the penultimate over, helping his side achieve a hat-trick of victories in the ongoing T20 World Cup with a five-wicket win over Afghanistan. Coming in to bat at a crunch situation when the ball was stopping a bit. Unperturbed by the pressure, Ali smoked a six over long-off on the first delivery of the over.
The 30-year-old followed it with a flat six over deep mid-wicket and hit the final nail in the coffin by blasting two sixes off last two deliveries of the over. It was a deja vu of the previous game for Pakistan. The power-hitter, also described as Pakistan's "designated finisher" by skipper Babar Azam, had also whacked 27 off 12 against New Zealand on October 26.
Riding on Ali's blitz, Pakistan overhauled the 148-run target against Afghanistan in 19 overs, a victory that consolidated their top spot in the points table and boosted their semifinal chances with minnows Scotland and Namibia to face next.
As Ali sealed the win for Pakistan, he brought out a gun-shot celebration, instantly reminding fans of MS Dhoni. The ex-India skipper had done a similar kind of celebration multiple times in his career. Ali's carnage on Friday had multiple shades of the World Cup-winning Indian leader. Ali also denied a single to back himself before finishing off the game in style with a six.
Ali, who finished 25 off 7 deliveries laced with four memorable sixes, said that he was "confident enough" to get 20-25 runs in the over against Karim Janat.
“I would like to congratulate the Pakistan team and all our fans. I was confident of finishing it off from this end and that's what I told Shoaib Malik before he got out. I look at the situation of the match, and I target the bowlers accordingly,” Ali said in the post-match presentation.
"I was talking to Shoaib when I walked in to bat and I told him that I was confident enough of getting 20-25 in one over against Karim Janat, which I did," he signed off.
