Afghanistan all-rounder Karim Janat rescued his side in the decider T20I against United Arab Emirates (UAE) on February 19 with an unbeaten 22-ball 56. In the run chase of 164, Janat went ballistic at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi to help Afghanistan win by six wickets and five balls to spare.
Janat’s onslaught
Afghanistan were struggling having lost four wickets for 86 runs in the 14th over. Janat came in to bat and played two dot deliveries against UAE pacer Akif Raja. Janat followed it up with two sixes and one four. He hit Rohan Mustafa for two sixes in the 16th over. The 24-year-old got to his half-century from 21 deliveries. In the final over, he finished the run chase with a six to win the game and the series. In the run chase, Janat had support from opener Ibrahim Zadran who remained not out for 60 off 51 deliveries.
The opening partnership
Earlier, skipper Rashid Khan won the toss and opted to bowl first. In-form Muhammad Waseem and Vriitya Aravind shared a 129-run opening partnership that was broken in 16th over. Waseem scored 75 runs from 50 deliveries including eight fours and three sixes. On the other end, Aravind scored 59 off 53 deliveries.
Poor finish
No other UAE batter managed to score in double digits as they went from 142/1 in the 17th over to posting a first innings score of 163/6. They could not capitalise in the slog overs and ended up with a par total.
ALSO READ: Mark Waugh and Dinesh Karthik indulge in heated argument on air, Sanjay Manjrekar steps in to ease tension
Janat’s aim
In an interview last year, Janat had revealed that he idolises Rohit Sharma but wants to be a mix of the 'Hitman' and former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar. He also wants to play in Indian Premier League (IPL) but went unsold in the mini auction despite base price of Rs 50 lakh. With New Zealand bowling all-rounder Kyle Jamieson out of IPL 2023 due to back injury, Janat has an outside chance to get picked by Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
ALSO READ: 'Sir, meri to bowling aa nahi rahi hai..' : Axar Patel funnily asks Jadeja as to why he was given less overs in 2nd Test — WATCH VIDEO
Janat’s form and T20I numbers
Janat has been in good form of late. He smashed another half-century against UAE in the first T20I of the series. So far, he has scored 478 runs from 29 innings at an average of 19.91 including three half-centuries and a strike rate of 121.01. With the ball he has 32 wickets at an average of 29.12 and economy rate of 8.09 runs per over. His best bowling figures of 5/11 came against West Indies in 2019.
